At the opening ceremony of the 2019 Taiyuan Energy Low Carbon Development Forum themed “Energy Revolution and International Cooperation” held on October 22, Han Zheng, member of Standing Committee of the CPC’s Political Bureau and Vice Premier of the State Council, read a letter from President Xi Jinping, officially announcing the beginning of the forum, and then gave a keynote speech.
That afternoon, the list of Global Top 500 New Energy Enterprises was unveiled. GCL again topped the list, and Zhu Gongshan, Chairman of GCL Group, was named one of this year’s Top Ten New Energy Figures.
Jointly organized by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Commerce, and National Energy Administration as well as the Shanxi Provincial Government, the event brought together over 500 political leaders and individuals from international organizations and multinational corporations from China and around the world. Addresses were given by Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Bohuslav Sobotka, former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, and Hu Zucai, Vice Chairman of NDRC.
For 29 years, GCL has followed the changes and trends in the global energy sector and devoted itself to transforming from a clean energy producer to a clean energy service provider with the goal of building an energy ecosystem that is clean, highly efficient, safe, and sustainable so as to improve mankind’s living environment, make the world a better place, and inject new vitality into China’s economic transformation.
By the end of 2018, GCL had made striking achievements with regard to new energy installation: 7,780 MW of PV power, 248.9 MW of wind power, 2,109.1 MW of natural gas power, 144 MW of biomass power, 362 MW of coal-fired cogeneration power, and 6,830 MW of eco-friendly thermal power for a total of 17,474 MW, including 10,282 MW of clean energy. In 2018, enough silicon wafers to produce over 24 GW of PV power were manufactured, and an annual output of over 31 billion kWh was achieved, which is equivalent to over 12 million tons of coal equivalent, translating into a reduction of over 36 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. In 2018, GCL shipped PV-power modules capable of producing 4.56 GW of power to customers around the world, which means an annual 1,795,000 tons of coal equivalent reduction, translating into a reduction of 5,456,000 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, 164,000 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions, and 82,000 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions. In addition, in the areas of the semiconductor industry and mobile energy services, GCL has carried out active exploration and sees brilliant prospects.
At the presentation of Zhu Gongshan’s award, he was complimented as a “courageous trendsetter who is working hard toward writing a new chapter in the industry”. Focusing his mission on clean and new energy, innovation, and transformation, he has become an industry leader in the aspects of building a complete PV industry chain and providing comprehensive energy services, thus serving as a flag-bearer of China’s thriving PV industry (or, in fact, entire new-energy industry).
Zhu Gongshan, Shi Jialin, Deputy Party Secretary of the State Power Investment Corporation, Shen Haoping, Chairman of Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor Co., Ltd., and Liu Hengwei, Executive Vice President of ENGIE China, engaged in a discussion on energy transformation and the path to clean development.
Zhu noted that for the past 29 years, GCL has maintained its passion for China and the energy industry, following the objective law of the energy revolution and taking the initiative to explore new and clean energy.
The energy revolution, first and foremost, relies on technological innovation – without this element, green energy would have no future. The energy technology revolution is not only about lowering company costs; more importantly, it is about bringing inexpensive PV power to people as soon as possible. This is being made possible by GCL’s determination to innovate technology on its own, boost the purity of silicon used in making wafers, and enhance the conversion efficiency of PV power.
Second is innovation in PV power station systems. In the past, the cost of modules translated into more than ten yuan per watt, but now the cost is only about three yuan. Such progress is a result of the technology revolution. This achievement could not have been reached without the CPC and the Chinese government’s focus on the new energy industry and related policies.
The final major element in the energy revolution is the conviction, determination, and persistence of entrepreneurs in the new energy industry, especially regarding their tireless diligence in market segmentation. Faced with the ups and downs associated with a PV power policy signed into law on May 31, 2018 (a policy affecting PV power subsidies), entrepreneurs must maintain a positive outlook and strategic focus regarding development so as to continue as industry pioneers in green development.
With the industrial advancement brought about by the energy revolution, GCL is determined to continue its hard work in integrated wind and solar charging and storage, storage capacity, lithium power, and super power-generation ports, which are issues that need to be dealt with presently.
The three-day Global Energy Revolution Expo opened at the same time as a major part of this year’s Taiyuan Energy Low Carbon Development Forum. The GCL booth attracted much attention and praise for GCL’s PV materials, semiconductor materials, perovskite solar cell technology, hydrogen power applications, Dianduoduo platform, electrically powered trucks, and clean energy.
