2025 International Renewable Energy Heating Technology Conference Held in Handan Kunle Bay
As the spring breeze sweeps across the Yanzhao land, it not only reflects the brilliance of technology but also symbolizes humanity’s endless pursuit of a clean energy future. The “2025 International Renewable Energy Heating Technology Conference” was held in Handan Kunle Bay from March 29 to 30, organized by the National Solar Thermal Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance (referred to as the National Solar Thermal Alliance) in collaboration with Handan Industry Investment Group Co., Ltd., Handan Cultural Tourism Industry Group Co., Ltd., Handan Jianxu New Energy Co., Ltd., and Inner Mongolia Xucheng Energy Co., Ltd.
This conference was themed “Green Heat Energy, Driving the Future.” Keynote speakers included He Yaling, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Su Yanhua, Deputy Mayor of Handan, Luo Yuchen, Deputy Director of the Hebei Provincial Energy Bureau, Zhang Yuqing, former Deputy Director of the National Energy Administration, Qiao Yong from the National Energy Administration’s New Energy and Renewable Energy Department, and other notable experts from various research institutions and universities, gathering over 300 leaders and representatives from the renewable energy sector.
Kou Jianyu, General Manager of the Inner Mongolia Electric Power Survey and Design Institute and Vice Chairman of the National Solar Thermal Alliance, hosted the conference opening ceremony.
Handan’s Commitment to Green Transformation
During the opening ceremony, Deputy Mayor Su Yanhua emphasized Handan’s rich cultural heritage and the city’s commitment to implementing new strategic initiatives focusing on high-quality development through the dual engines of new energy and the cultural tourism industry. The Handan Industry Investment Group is working to establish a charging network in the main urban area and promote new energy projects in cultural tourism. The Kunle Bay project, which is the first in the country to apply solar thermal energy technology on a large scale in the cultural tourism sector, represents an innovative attempt to cultivate a new quality of productive forces, as well as a significant demonstration of Handan’s commitment to green transformation and its contributions to carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals.
Hao Jingfei, General Manager of the Handan Cultural Tourism Industry Group, stated that the group is committed to the nine industrial deployments set forth by the Handan Municipal Party Committee and government, actively laying out a new pattern of coordinated development of wind, solar, electricity, and energy storage. They aim to create a smart, convenient, and safe charging infrastructure network and integrated charging stations. The group is also promoting the construction of distributed rooftop solar photovoltaic and wind power projects. With a “zero carbon gene,” they are reshaping the cultural tourism model, and the Kunle Bay project provides innovative scenarios for the implementation of renewable energy technologies, setting a new benchmark for low-carbon parks and green industries.
The Critical Role of Heating in Clean Energy Transition
He Yaling stated that thermal energy is a significant driver of energy demand in buildings and industries globally, and the heating sector is crucial for the clean energy transition. The “Guideline on Vigorously Implementing Renewable Energy Substitution Actions,” jointly issued by six departments including the National Development and Reform Commission, provides us with development ideas and guidance. Moving forward, we must accelerate the promotion of low-temperature renewable energy utilization in sectors such as papermaking, dyeing, and food processing; promote the integration of oil and gas exploration with renewable energy development; actively promote solar thermal applications in areas rich in solar resources and buildings with stable hot water demands; and adaptively advance applications of geothermal energy, air-source heat pumps, and centralized biomass energy for heating and cooling.
Qiao Yong from the National Energy Administration highlighted the importance of realizing green and low-carbon transitions through the development of renewable energy heating. With a high demand for heating in China, utilizing renewable energy for heating is an urgent need to adjust the energy structure, achieve energy conservation and emissions reduction, and control carbon emissions reasonably. The potential market for renewable energy heating is vast, yet the current scale still represents a small proportion of total heating capacity, indicating a significant gap to be filled in large-scale applications. The entire industry must increase its efforts in promotion and outreach.
Wang Zhifeng, the conference chairman and a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, noted that the meeting gathered experts from various fields, including energy and energy conversion, to discuss renewable energy heating from demonstration and application perspectives, as well as relevant scientific issues. The goal is to promote development in this area, address practical application challenges, and support sustainable energy usage and heating methods.
Policy, Technology, and Industry Exchange to Drive Industrial Upgrade
During the keynote presentation segment following the opening ceremony, Zhang Yuqing, former Deputy Director of the National Energy Administration, shared preliminary thoughts on the “14th Five-Year Plan” for high-quality development of China’s energy industry. Researcher Hu Runqing from the National Development and Reform Commission elaborated on the pathways and policies for renewable energy substitution in the heating industry. Professor Wang Ruzhu from Shanghai Jiaotong University discussed “Heat Pump + Thermal Storage for Flexible Low-Carbon Heating,” while Professor Ji Jie from the University of Science and Technology of China presented on “Solar Passive Heating—Research on Construction and Performance of Antibacterial and Sterilizing Building Walls.” Professor Yang Xudong from Tsinghua University shared insights on distributed heating and technology for low-carbon parks, while Professor Yang Ronggui from Peking University focused on breakthroughs in the bottlenecks of solid and liquid thermal storage. Wang Zhifeng, a professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, highlighted the latest advancements in long-duration thermal storage technology and its strategic value in constructing a new power system.
Over two days, 39 speakers shared their insights on renewable energy heating policies, solar building heating, heat pumps, cross-seasonal thermal storage, cooling, solar coupling with biomass hydrogen production, electrode boiler coupling with biomass heating, flexible transformation of molten salt thermal power, low-cost renewable energy heating solutions and application cases, as well as energy utilization trends in industries such as wood drying, glass, and cement, aiming to build consensus and explore developmental pathways for high-quality advancement, injecting continuous momentum into a “zero-carbon future.”
Driving Green Low-Carbon Circular Economy Through Innovative Practices
This year’s conference was held at the Handan Kunle Bay International Tourism Resort, which is the world’s first large-scale integration of solar thermal energy with cultural tourism, creating a new model for the development of the cultural tourism industry with significant demonstration value. Li Guifeng, Chairman of Handan Jianxu New Energy Co., Ltd., introduced that the project covers an area of approximately 900 acres with a total building area of about 500,000 square meters, constructed by Handan City Industry Investment Group’s subsidiary. The project features a 114,000 square meter parabolic trough solar field, 12 storage tanks of 5,000 cubic meters each, and two 2,300 cubic meter ethylene glycol cold storage tanks, utilizing clean energy conversion technology to achieve cooling, heating, ice-making, and snow-making, fulfilling about 97% of the energy demand for the park. This project has become a vivid example of global green low-carbon development, saving over 110 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over 38,000 tons each year. These figures represent not just numbers but also the fervent pursuit and courage to break through for sustainable development from numerous enterprises, including Handan Industry Investment Group, Cultural Tourism Company, Jianxu New Energy, and Xucheng Energy.
By harnessing the “cold” resources of snow and ice, the project releases the “hot” economic effects. As a new landmark in cultural tourism, Kunle Bay is becoming a year-round tourism brand for Hebei Province characterized by “clean energy and low-carbon economy.” During the event, more than a hundred expert representatives visited the solar thermal energy center, snow world, and water world at Handan Kunle Bay.
The conference was organized by the Zhongguancun New Source Solar Thermal Utilization Technology Service Center and the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Electrical Engineering, receiving strong support from various organizations including the National Housing Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance and the National Bamboo and Wood Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance.
Let us work hand in hand, igniting a green future with the flame of technology and letting green heat energy illuminate the new journey of human civilization.
