Project Case | Xiong'an New Area's First All-Electric, Smart, Zero-Carbon Campus

 

Cable laying, interior renovation work—during this period, at the construction site of the State Grid Energy Internet Industry Xiong'an Innovation Center, located in the Startup Area of Hebei Xiong'an New Area, all operations are steadily advancing in an orderly manner.

 

This is Xiong'an New Area's first all-electric, smart, zero-carbon park. The five buildings are arranged in a compact, enclosed layout, with the planet-shaped structure at the center serving as the conference and exhibition center. Four research and industrial buildings are strategically located at the four corners of the park. The park is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

 

Project Overview

 

 

Project Name: State Grid Energy Internet Industry Xiong'an Innovation Center Project

Project Location: The project is located in the northern part of the Internet Industry Park within the Startup Area of Xiong'an New Area.

Construction scale: The project covers a total land area of 72,300 m². ² , with a total floor area of 197,700 m² ² , with a total above-ground floor area of 109,800 m² ² , the underground floor area is 88,000 m² ² The main construction components include functions such as scientific research, experimentation, intelligent control, and conference facilities.

 

Do the subtraction of energy conservation and carbon reduction, while also adding to the development of clean energy.

 

Exterior wall insulation

 

The glass curtain walls on the facades of several buildings have been fully installed, with each panel measuring nearly 10 centimeters thick. These glass panels are constructed from three layers of glass, sandwiched between two air-filled cavities that are sealed with argon gas, effectively minimizing heat transfer. Together, the building facades feature over 8,000 glass curtain wall units, creating a robust barrier that provides excellent thermal insulation during winter, shields against intense summer heat, and optimizes natural daylighting—ultimately helping to reduce energy consumption for HVAC systems, lighting, and overall building operations within the campus.

 

Geothermal Heat Pump

 

Energy conservation and carbon reduction can’t rely solely on "coat insulation"—we also need an underground and aboveground "circulatory system" within the park to "maintain a constant temperature."

Enter the basement level from Building 5, and you’ll arrive at the central control area for the park’s heating and cooling system—this is the highly efficient machine room. Around the perimeter of the room, intricate networks of pipes crisscross in every direction; and right in the center stand three geothermal heat pump units side by side—these are the "heart" that powers the entire park’s chilled and hot water circulation system.

 

The park has drilled 1,136 geothermal heat pump wellbores underground, each exceeding 130 meters in depth. These wells are equipped with U-shaped pipes that facilitate efficient heat exchange between the ground and the surrounding soil, while a geothermal heat pump unit works in tandem with an internal chilled-water circulation system to transfer heat in and out of the building.

 

In winter, the geothermal heat pump system draws heat from the ground to warm buildings, while in summer, it transfers the building’s excess heat back into the ground, maintaining indoor temperatures between 21°C and 26°C. This significantly reduces energy consumption compared to conventional air-conditioning systems.

 

According to calculations, using a geothermal heat pump system, every 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity input can generate more than 5 kilowatt-hours of thermal energy. The geothermal heat pump system simply transfers heat between tap water circulating through U-shaped pipes and underground soil—without extracting groundwater—thus preventing any secondary contamination of the groundwater.

 

Photovoltaic power generation

 

 

When planning the photovoltaic system for the park, full consideration was given to factors such as building orientation and roof slope, ensuring that the PV panels can maximize sunlight exposure. Under favorable weather conditions and with high electricity demand in the park, the rooftop photovoltaic power generation can be entirely consumed. According to statistics, the annual power generation from rooftop PV systems across the entire park can reach 2.73 million kilowatt-hours, meeting about one-quarter of the park's total electricity needs.

 

New energy power generation largely depends on weather conditions—so how can we ensure stable energy supply for the park? On one hand, the park is connected to the larger power grid and can flexibly purchase electricity from the grid through the power market, based on its own new energy generation output. On the other hand, the park can monitor real-time load conditions across different plots and areas, enabling balanced allocation. For instance, if cloudy weather reduces photovoltaic power generation, the park can simultaneously adjust internal load demands, ensuring that electricity usage dynamically aligns with fluctuations in power generation.

 

Build a digital campus, implement intelligent management to smartly reduce carbon emissions.

 

 

In addition to energy conservation and carbon reduction "on the ground" and "underground," the Innovation Center has also built an integrated smart operation and management platform in the cloud for the park, enabling comprehensive carbon monitoring, intelligent energy management, and advanced park-wide operations.

 

The intelligent platform manages 146,000 devices of various sizes across the campus—ranging from air conditioners and faucets to the number and power consumption of light bulbs in every single room. The platform monitors real-time usage data and energy consumption for these devices, enabling it to calculate the energy use and carbon emissions associated with each building, floor, and even individual room. Supported by advanced big data models, the system can intelligently optimize space adjustments, seamlessly balancing load distribution while achieving zero-carbon management.

 

After the platform goes live, it will enable smart lighting, automatically adjusting brightness based on light changes and usage scenarios—balancing illumination while minimizing energy consumption to the greatest extent. It also allows real-time control of HVAC systems, leveraging heat recovery and variable-frequency control technologies to precisely regulate indoor temperature and humidity. Additionally, the system can automatically optimize the operating parameters and number of geothermal heat pumps according to both indoor and outdoor temperature fluctuations, further reducing energy use and carbon emissions. Beyond manual operation, the intelligent streetlights can dynamically adjust their brightness levels in response to pedestrian traffic and ambient light intensity across different times of day and areas.

 

Zero-Carbon Conference Exhibition Center

 

This project will strategically position the core building—the Conference and Exhibition Center—as the central hub for showcasing zero-carbon technologies and managing campus operations. The building has a floor area of 11,000 square meters. ² After calculation, its annual emission reductions exceed carbon emissions, meeting the zero-carbon building standard and making it the park's most iconic and representative structure. The building’s hyperbolic form stands out dramatically against the horizon, while its east and west sides both face the park’s main plazas, further enhancing the overall sense of lightness—and seamlessly blending in with the surrounding environment.

 

 

The atrium features an operable skylight system that creates effective natural ventilation during the transitional seasons, further reducing the building's energy consumption while also visually showcasing the practical benefits of passive energy-saving technologies.

 

The conference exhibition center features a double-skin façade system, featuring smooth curves and a rhythmic facade design that creates an architectural image brimming with futuristic and technological appeal. The building’s sleek form not only harmonizes seamlessly with the overall campus plan but also reinforces its identity as the gateway to the园区 through its distinctive visual language. Beyond enhancing the building’s thermal performance, the double-skin system cleverly leverages light and shadow to produce dynamic visual effects, perfectly embodying the innovative spirit of an energy enterprise. As the campus’s flagship technology showcase, the building also integrates an intelligent management system internally, enabling real-time monitoring and presentation of operational data for various zero-carbon technologies—blending these cutting-edge systems with daily operations to deliver an immersive, zero-carbon experience for visitors.

 

This approach, which integrates technological innovation with architectural space, enhances the overall quality of buildings and provides valuable insights for zero-carbon design in large-scale public structures. It clearly demonstrates that zero-carbon architecture not only helps achieve sustainable development goals but also enables the creation of architecturally expressive and inspiring spaces.

 

Electro-Carbon Synergy Trading Seals the Final Step Toward Zero-Carbon Development

 

The conference and exhibition center building in the park is not only a zero-carbon DC building— it will also house the future electricity-carbon synergy trading service platform, connecting direct electricity users, companies subject to mandatory emission controls or voluntarily pursuing emissions reductions, as well as the electricity and carbon trading markets.

 

Through various energy-saving and carbon-reduction measures, the park has already achieved a carbon reduction rate of over 60%. However, the park still relies on grid-supplied electricity, which traditionally comes with indirect carbon emissions. Fortunately, with the help of this platform, the park can now precisely match and purchase green energy, effectively offsetting its carbon footprint.

 

The platform enables comprehensive, park-wide carbon monitoring internally, featuring functions such as carbon emission tracking, carbon account management, and emission diagnostics—empowering parks to "calculate, manage, and reduce" their carbon footprints. Externally, it offers integrated electricity-carbon trading services, seamlessly connecting various channels for electricity and carbon transactions and bringing energy suppliers and consumers closer together. Leveraging advanced underlying algorithmic models, the platform builds a smart decision-making system that provides users with intelligent services like price forecasting, optimized trading strategies, and robust transaction risk management—ultimately helping users lower both their electricity procurement costs and carbon-neutralization expenses.

 

Calculations show that the entire campus can achieve an annual carbon reduction of 3,370 tons through its clean energy station and passive energy-saving measures in buildings. Additionally, the use of highly efficient, energy-saving, dimmable lighting fixtures combined with smart lighting systems will cut emissions by 1,386 tons per year. Meanwhile, the campus's advanced data center and intelligent operations & maintenance management systems will help reduce carbon emissions by 541 tons annually. On top of this, rooftop photovoltaic power generation will contribute to an annual carbon reduction of 1,367 tons. Finally, the remaining 4,104 tons of indirect carbon emissions generated from electricity consumption will be offset entirely through green power trading and carbon trading initiatives, ultimately enabling the campus to achieve zero-carbon emissions.

 

Some materials sourced from: People's Daily (September 2, 2025, Edition 14), Beijing Evening News Online, and Hebei News Network

 

Source: Youlv.com