The morning winter fog had not yet dissipated, but the Data Lake City building on Qingzhou Avenue in Qingzhen City seemed to be coated with a layer of warm light, its solemn outline becoming increasingly clear and radiant in the interplay of light and shadow. In contrast to its dignified and solemn exterior, stepping into the first-floor lobby immediately brings the screen of Qingzhen City's Smart Energy and Carbon Management Platform into view, where flickering numbers narrate a quiet revolution, with the building's energy consumption status refreshing in real-time. In the past, energy conservation in public institutions often faced the dilemma of "having funds but struggling to get things done, and finding it difficult to sustain efforts even after starting." Here, however, by introducing the Contract Energy Management (EMC) model, a profound transformation from "government-led" to "market-driven" is unfolding.
"Through this newly built energy consumption monitoring system, we have achieved precise, categorized, itemized, and zonal monitoring and intelligent control of energy consumption such as water and electricity on each floor," introduced Li Hairong, Deputy Director of the Qingzhen City Government Offices Administration Service Center. Through real-time transmission of big data on energy consumption and online analysis via cloud computing, timely feedback and precise intervention have been realized. With no prior experience to follow and no mature template available, Qingzhen City's explorations in the fields of contract energy management and the construction of green, low-carbon government offices have blazed a new trail for the "county-wide promotion" of energy conservation in public institutions.
Breaking the Impasse: "Saving" Means More Scientific and Efficient Usage. "Set winter air conditioning temperature no higher than 26°C, close windows and doors when using AC. Use less artificial lighting when natural light is sufficient, turn off lights when leaving." Before New Year's Day, the Qingzhen City Government Offices Administration Service Center once again issued an initiative to all government departments and units, requiring them to educate and guide staff, and diligently implement requirements for frugal office practices. Saving is not simply about "cutting back," but about more scientific "allocation" and more efficient "usage." Li Hairong was well aware of the pain points of the traditional model, stating, "Public institutions have a large base energy consumption, and equipment ages quickly. To retrofit, fiscal budgets are limited; not to retrofit means energy consumption indicators won't come down. Even more critically, many projects, once built, lack follow-up operation and maintenance, becoming 'white elephants' within a couple of years."
Previously, energy conservation work in Qingzhen's public institutions faced the predicament of "having bright spots at individual points, but struggling to coordinate across the board." Inconsistent energy-saving standards among units, untimely data statistics, and relatively backward monitoring methods made it difficult to form a concerted effort for energy conservation. "Energy conservation in public institutions is an important lever for green and low-carbon development. County-wide promotion is imperative, but with no ready-made experience, we had to摸索 (mōsuǒ, feel our way) ourselves," admitted Long Wenqiao, Director of the Qingzhen City Government Offices Administration Service Center. Faced with the "dual control" targets mandated by the national, provincial, and municipal governments, the challenge—and motivation—for Qingzhen City was how to achieve a reduction in total energy consumption while having almost no special fiscal funds allocated for retrofitting.
The decision to "let professionals handle professional tasks" directly propelled Qingzhen City to later become a pilot county (city) for the provincial "energy management" overall project promotion. Looking around, the common approach to energy conservation in public institutions in most cities was "going it alone"—a single hospital or school negotiating contracts individually with energy service companies. This model not only resulted in weak bargaining power but also easily led to a situation where "bad money drives out good." Qingzhen City's innovation lies in its county-wide promotion approach, "bundling" 101 public institutions across the city and tendering for the introduction of a professional team to carry out energy management.
"Through market-oriented methods, scale-thinking, and digital technology, green development has been transformed into tangible, measurable results," explained Luo Chang, Chairman of Qingzhen City Chengfa Group New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. Since winning the project bid, his team, after nearly three months of baseline assessment, integrated major energy consumers like the Municipal People's Hospital and Qingzhen No. 1 Middle School, along with dozens of dispersed units, into one "super project." "The government spends no money, the enterprise earns revenue, and society reduces carbon emissions—a win-win-win situation," Luo Chang calculated. If a stable 10% energy saving rate can be achieved, it could save over one million yuan in energy costs annually. "Simply put, the government pays the budget for electricity and water fees directly to us. We are responsible for footing the bill for equipment upgrades and daily operation and maintenance. If we perform well on energy saving, the money saved is our profit; if we perform poorly, we bear the loss ourselves," Luo Chang said.
"Energy saving now doesn't rely on 'people watching,' but on 'brains calculating,'" Li Hairong noted. In the past, public institutions primarily relied on manual methods to collect energy consumption data, which was error-prone and inefficient. Now, data for key energy sources like water, electricity, and gas are integrated into a single platform, enabling efficient and simple energy operation management. Currently, the platform uses AI algorithms, combined with real-time weather and foot traffic data, to automatically adjust office temperatures. "For example, if it's cloudy today, the system will automatically raise the indoor temperature by 1 degree while also reducing water pump speed," Luo Chang explained while demonstrating in front of the screen. "Don't underestimate that 1 degree; for a single unit, the annual savings can amount to hundreds of thousands."
While achieving subtraction through energy efficiency diagnostics and energy saving/carbon reduction, Qingzhen City is vigorously developing a circular economy and nurturing green advanced technologies, aiming to strengthen and optimize the green, low-carbon industry through an "addition effect." Since 2022, the data has provided the most powerful answer. To date, all 47 Party and government organs in Qingzhen City have been successfully established as conservation-minded offices, achieving a 100% completion rate. The Administrative Center has implemented a paperless meeting system, saving approximately 1.5 million yuan annually in printing costs for meetings; retrofits of the air conditioning and lighting systems have resulted in a 60% energy saving rate for central air conditioning, saving 3.096 million kWh annually. The installation of about 6,600 LED energy-saving lights has achieved an 80% electricity saving rate, saving 3.726 million kWh per year. The Municipal People's Hospital project saved over 300,000 yuan in electricity costs this year, and the air conditioning failure rate decreased by 40%. The 278 radar sensor lights installed in the parking lot of the centralized office area of the Municipal Administrative Center enable smart lighting management for 480 parking spaces, achieving "lights brighten when a car arrives, dim when it leaves."
"Previously, we were pleading with companies to come; now, companies are lining up wanting to participate. The next step for us is 'carbon asset management,'" said Long Wenqiao. "Right now, we are only saving electricity and money. In the future, we aim to transform the 'carbon indicators' saved by public institutions into tradable 'carbon assets'." This move signifies that public institutions may not only cease to be major energy consumers but could even become "sellers" in the carbon trading market, achieving a true conversion of ecological value.
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