Taking the lead as a clean energy supplier, we operate a number of "green businesses" that seek to ensure that the energy we provide will contribute to a cleaner and greener environment. As a responsible and forward looking business, we are fully aware that energy will become an increasingly scarce resource in the future. Guided by the vision of a carbon neutral world, we are therefore proactively looking into alternative sources of clean and renewable energy.
In order to expand our sustainable energy business, we have developed a Smart Energy system that utilises artificial intelligence (AI), big data and the Internet to achieve higher energy efficiency and lower emissions. The system covers a portfolio of electricity, steam, natural gas, renewable energy and energy storage. During the year, we acquired 40 solar photovoltaic power generation projects and five energy storage projects, with a total capacity of 300 megawatts and total storage capacity of over 100 megawatt hours respectively.
We have been involved in the Distributed Energy Systems (DES) business in Chinese mainland since 2017. Widely acclaimed by our C&I customers, DES offers a decentralised energy supply for generating electricity as well as producing hot water, steam and chilled water using waste heat. The economies of scale available with DES have enabled us to extend these efficient, costsaving systems into residential districts for space heating and industrial development zones for steam supply.
Biomass into Energy
Biomass can be a valuable resource for the production of energy and chemicals. In Zhangjiagang city, Jiangsu province, we established our first hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) plant for converting inedible bio-grease feedstock into advanced biofuels with International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC). In 2020, the HVO facility produced around 88,000 tonnes of HVO, of which 90 per cent was sold to Europe. The production of HVO saved around 259,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. We are now exploring other markets for this product.
We have also developed new technologies that utilise agricultural waste such as straws and corn cobs for the production of cellulosic ethanol, an advanced biofuel, as well as paper pulp and furfural, a chemical that can be used as a building block for renewable fuels. Two pilot projects in Hebei province, which will each process 240,000 tonnes of agricultural waste annually, are expected to commence trial production in 2021.
Organic Waste Resource Utilisation
We established our first organic waste resource utilisation project in Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou city, Jiangsu province. Currently, this organic waste resource utilisation plant can process up to 500 tonnes daily of organic wastes for conversion into natural gas. When construction of the second phase of this plant is completed in 2021, daily processing capacity will increase to 800 tonnes.
Another food resource waste utilisation project is located in Tongling city, Anhui province with a daily processing capacity of 100 tonnes of food waste. When the second phase of this project goes into operation in 2021, the plant’s food waste processing capacity will be doubled. We are also exploring additional food waste treatment projects in other cities.