Zero-Carbon Campus: The Green Revolution on Photovoltaics' New Frontier

In today's era, where sustainable development is the driving force, zero-carbon campuses have become a new target that many enterprises are eagerly pursuing.

With the country's strong support for the development and utilization of renewable energy, coupled with the growing market demand for green, low-carbon solutions, a quiet yet powerful green energy revolution—led by photovoltaics—is steadily gaining momentum.

Home appliance giants like Haier and Midea are boldly expanding into new sectors, turning their attention to this vast blue ocean brimming with limitless potential.

So, what exactly is the allure of a zero-carbon park that has attracted so many industry giants to rush in?

 

The photovoltaic feast: Zero-carbon parks become the new darlings.

At the end of February, the Shandong International Convention and Exhibition Center played host to a grand event in the new-energy industry: the 19th China (Jinan) International Solar Energy Utilization Conference 2024, along with the 3rd China (Shandong) New-Energy and Energy Storage Application Expo, held as scheduled.

This exhibition is hailed as the "barometer" and "weathervane" of the new energy industry, drawing more than 600 brand-name companies to gather together and jointly showcase cutting-edge technologies, innovative products, and comprehensive solutions spanning the entire solar photovoltaic, energy storage, and multi-energy complementary sectors.

 

At this grand event, a clear trend has drawn widespread attention: the development of "zero-carbon parks" and "low-carbon parks" is emerging as a new battleground in the race for distributed commercial and industrial photovoltaic systems.

From local enterprises to rising industry stars, all are turning their attention toward this new market brimming with opportunities.

 

Haier Group's new energy brand, Nahui: A Leader in Smart New Energy Solutions

As a new energy brand under Haier, Nahui New Energy shone brightly at this expo.

It not only showcases smart, new-energy solutions tailored for the industrial and commercial sectors, but also provides industrial and commercial users with a one-stop, full-cycle electricity service.

From power generation and storage to electricity management, Nahui New Energy makes energy consumption visible and intelligently controllable, offering greater possibilities for users such as industrial parks and commercial enterprises to achieve a low-carbon transition and sustainable development.

 

Nahui New Energy's solution is not just a simple photovoltaic power generation system—it’s a comprehensive service platform that integrates intelligent software and hardware technologies.

It can intelligently adjust its power generation and storage strategies based on the user's actual electricity needs, ensuring efficient energy utilization.

At the same time, by leveraging digital operations and smart energy management, we help users reduce operational costs, enhance their emergency response capabilities, and strengthen carbon footprint management.

 

Even more notably, Nahui New Energy has also signed a cooperation agreement with the Qingdao Lan Valley Administration, under which the two sides will jointly build an integrated park encompassing "research, production, supply, sales, and exhibition."

This move not only signifies that Nahui New Energy is further deepening its presence in the new energy sector, but also heralds the imminent start of a new chapter for Chinese new-energy brands as they expand overseas.

 

The photovoltaic market is booming, bringing new opportunities for distributed PV systems in the industrial and commercial sectors.

Wang Bohua, Honorary Chairman of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, introduced at the "2023 Review of Photovoltaic Industry Development and 2024 Outlook Seminar" that China's PV application market achieved growth exceeding expectations in 2023, with newly installed capacity reaching 216.88 GW—up 148.1% year-on-year.

By the end of 2023, the cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaic power had reached 609.5 gigawatts.

Notably, centralized PV installations have surpassed distributed ones in new capacity additions, yet commercial and industrial distributed PV installations are also nearing 50 gigawatts, showcasing strong growth momentum.

 

With the support of domestic policies, the distributed photovoltaic development in industry and commerce has ushered in new opportunities for growth.

As a rising local player in the new energy sector, Nahui New Energy has taken over Haier Group’s strategic layout for new energy, focusing on three key industries: distributed photovoltaics, user-side energy storage, and intelligent energy controllers.

By intelligently integrating software and hardware, we provide smart new-energy solutions for residential and commercial users, helping them achieve a green and low-carbon transformation.

 

Inverter Technology Innovation: Tackling Pain Points in Commercial and Industrial PV Systems

Although the commercial and industrial PV market is experiencing explosive growth, it still has numerous shortcomings.

For example, the mismatch between photovoltaic power generation and electricity load leads to a low local consumption rate of new energy; the economic benefits of green PV power applications remain largely untapped; and challenges such as difficult operation and maintenance, stringent noise requirements, high fire safety standards, and difficulties in grid integration urgently need to be addressed.

 

In this context, innovation in inverter technology becomes particularly important.

Clean energy high-tech company Aiswei showcased its latest technological achievements and solutions at the exhibition.

Its flagship product, the 80-110kW three-phase photovoltaic inverter, excels in enabling efficient power generation, with a conversion efficiency of up to 98.6%.

Meanwhile, addressing the biggest safety challenge facing photovoltaic systems—fire risks caused by DC arcing—the product significantly reduces fire hazards through advanced technologies such as high-precision sampling and intelligent algorithms.

 

This inverter product has been widely used in numerous industrial and commercial projects both domestically and internationally.

For example, at a primary processing enterprise of traditional Chinese medicinal materials in Bozhou, Anhui Province, a 3.4-megawatt distributed photovoltaic power station built using this inverter can generate over 3.6 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually, saving approximately 1,095.87 tons of standard coal and helping the company achieve a green, low-carbon transformation of its energy consumption.

Such success stories undoubtedly inject strong momentum into the development of the commercial and industrial PV market.

 

Midea's New Entry into the PV Industry: Expanding Across Sectors to Build Zero-Carbon Parks

On the track of the photovoltaic new-energy industry, there is no shortage of newcomers entering the scene.

Midea Group is one of them.

On June 21, 2023, Hekang New Energy announced its plan to issue shares to Midea Group, aiming to raise no more than RMB 1.473 billion, which will be used for projects such as upgrading its electrical equipment business capabilities and developing a photovoltaic industry platform.

From now on, Hekang New Energy has officially merged into Midea Group, marking the home appliance giant Midea's formal entry into the photovoltaic new-energy industry.

 

From its official establishment to debuting at the International Conference on Solar Energy Utilization, Midea Photovoltaic has entered the industry in just over six months.

However, this "new player in the industry" has adopted a multifaceted approach across residential, commercial & industrial, centralized grid integration, energy storage, and smart energy management.

At the exhibition, Midea Photovoltaic specially unveiled its zero-carbon industrial and commercial park solutions.

This solution integrates photovoltaic building-integrated systems (BIPV—building integrated with photovoltaic components), BAPV (building-applied photovoltaic systems—components combined with buildings), and photovoltaic carport installations, offering tailored solutions for various application scenarios.

 

By combining photovoltaics with energy storage, Midea PV has created a distributed green power system that integrates green electricity generation, storage, and energy distribution.

This system not only meets the diverse green electricity needs across different campus environments but also fully leverages the rooftops of campus buildings and public spaces, enhancing power generation efficiency and driving energy optimization within the campus.

At the same time, the park landscape is environmentally adapted by creating a photovoltaic landscape corridor featuring Mei's exclusive Fu pattern, enhancing both the architectural facades and the public environment.

 

In addition to the main venue in Shandong, Midea Photovoltaic has also set up sub-venues in six major cities—Hefei, Wuhan, Foshan, Nanning, Xi'an, and Kunming—to simultaneously host offline investment promotion events.

This initiative drew numerous on-site inquiries and signings from participating agents, showcasing Midea Photovoltaics' strong capabilities in market expansion.

 

The Future Outlook for Zero-Carbon Parks

With the country's continued support for the development and utilization of renewable energy, coupled with the growing market demand for green and low-carbon solutions, the future prospects for zero-carbon parks are exceptionally promising.

From Haier Group's smart new-energy solution brand, Nahui, to Midea Photovoltaic's zero-carbon industrial and commercial park solutions, we see industry giants demonstrating unwavering confidence and actively positioning themselves in this vast blue ocean market.

 

However, building a zero-carbon park is not something that can be achieved overnight.

It requires the joint efforts and sustained investment from the government, businesses, and all sectors of society.

The government needs to introduce more supportive policies to encourage businesses to increase their investments in the renewable energy sector. Meanwhile, enterprises must continuously innovate their technologies, enhance product performance, and improve service quality. Additionally, all sectors of society should strengthen their environmental awareness and work together to promote the widespread adoption of a green, low-carbon lifestyle.

 

In this process, photovoltaic technology will undoubtedly play a crucial role.

From innovations in inverter technology to the explosive growth of commercial and industrial distributed photovoltaics, we are witnessing the immense potential of PV technology in addressing energy challenges and driving the green, low-carbon transition.

In the future, as technology continues to advance and costs keep declining, photovoltaic technology will play an even more critical role in the development of zero-carbon campuses.

 

Conclusion: Are we ready for a zero-carbon campus?

As we stand at this new starting point of the green energy revolution, we can't help but ask: Facing the vast prospects and limitless possibilities of zero-carbon campuses, are we truly ready? Have governments, businesses, and all sectors of society already made thorough preparations to meet the challenges of this green, low-carbon transformation?

Perhaps this question doesn’t have a simple answer. But one thing is certain: with supportive national policies, growing market demand, and continuous technological advancements, the development of zero-carbon parks has already become unstoppable.

And in this process, every participant will become a vital force driving the green and low-carbon transition.

 

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s join forces and leap into this green energy revolution together! With our wisdom and hard work, let’s jointly create a brilliant chapter for a zero-carbon campus!