零碳园区不是牌子是结果：验收指标如何落到每度电上Zero-carbon parks are not a label but a result: how acceptance indicators are applied to each kilowatt-hour of electricity

Zhuo Qiyan

The four words 'zero-carbon park' are turning from a concept into a set of verifiable projects. Issuing the list is only the starting point; the real challenge is whether a park can change its energy structure, calculate its carbon emissions, and ensure the project's cash flow without sacrificing output. Behind the indicators is a whole set of technical and institutional combinations.

52 parks, one list, one acceptance line. The National Development and Reform Commission released the first batch of national zero-carbon park construction lists, pushing the concept of zero carbon into the realm of actual projects. The list is not a badge or a label but a construction task book with clear indicators.

The structure of this list is worth a close look. The 52 parks cover at least one in each province, autonomous region, and municipality, with some bias toward regions rich in renewable energy resources and those with a strong work foundation. The industries involved in the parks are mainly the renewable energy industry and advanced manufacturing, pointing to 'using green to control green.' In terms of construction progress, 24 parks are advancing major projects and key initiatives related to zero-carbon parks, 24 have started preliminary work and already possess a certain volume of physical work, and 4 have formulated clear construction path plans.

There is only one core indicator: the unit energy consumption carbon emission is about 0.25 tons per ton of standard coal. What does this number mean? According to the National Development and Reform Commission, it is only one-tenth of the current national average level for industrial parks. For a park to limit carbon emissions to this level while its total energy consumption is growing, it relies not on producing less, but on changing energy sources, processes, and management.

There are five supporting guiding indicators, covering energy supply, energy consumption, carbon emission management, resource recycling, and operational management. The core indicator plus the guiding indicators form a '1-5' assessment framework. Only when a park meets the required indicators and passes the evaluation and acceptance can it officially become a national zero-carbon park; parks not on the list can also apply for acceptance as long as they meet the indicator requirements.

This rule is very important. It means that a zero-carbon park is not an identity, but a result. The difference between those on the list and those off it mainly lies in policy support and guidance, not in whether they can use the name. For park managers, the real pressure is not on the day they are selected, but on the day of acceptance.

Direct green power supply is the backbone of the technical solution. According to the National Development and Reform Commission, the first batch of parks will develop 'direct green power supply' according to local conditions, and it is expected that after completion, the proportion of direct supply will not be less than 50% of the park's electricity consumption. The 50% is a hard line; it requires the surrounding areas of the park to have exploitable renewable energy resources and also requires the park to have the capacity to handle fluctuations.

Document No. 688 in May 2026 further expands the policy opening for this path. The document specifies that the entire or partial loads of industrial parks, zero-carbon parks, and incremental distribution networks may access renewable energy nearby, forming multi-user direct green power connection projects; projects are planned according to the 'load-determined generation' principle, with the proportion of annual self-generated and self-used electricity not less than 60% of the total available generation, and the proportion of total electricity consumption not less than 30%, increasing to not less than 35% before 2030; priority support is given to computing facilities, emerging industries such as green hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol.

Putting the three ratios together is an arithmetic problem. A self-generation and self-use ratio of no less than 60% means that the power plant cannot be built too large; otherwise, the electricity generated would not be fully used. A proportion of total electricity consumption of no less than 30% means that the park must actually connect green electricity to the production line and cannot just buy green certificates on paper. The accuracy of matching power supply to load directly determines whether the project can pass the review.

The difficulties in different parks vary. Eastern parks face tight land and limited renewable energy resources, so green electricity must rely on cross-regional transmission or distributed development; western parks have abundant resources but light loads, so the locally generated electricity cannot be consumed; old industrial parks have outdated piping and distribution facilities, making renovations costly; newly built parks can integrate generation, grid, load, and storage into the design from the planning stage, making it easier to meet the standards.

The approach of the Jinchang Economic and Technological Development Zone provides a sample from Northwest China. This park is positioned as 'low-carbon non-ferrous metallurgy and renewable energy battery materials' and has issued a national-level zero-carbon park construction plan and six supporting systems such as carbon emission budget management. For 79 key enterprises, including Jinchuan Group, it has established 'three books' of energy, emissions, and potential, with a dedicated team composed of 16 departments, Jinchuan Group, and State Grid Jinchang Power Supply Company to liaise with each enterprise individually. As of July 2026, Jinchang's power grid has an installed capacity of 7.72 million kilowatts, with hydro and renewable energy installations totaling 6.02 million kilowatts, and green electricity accounting for 78% of the installed capacity.

The significance of the three books is to break down the overall targets of the park to the enterprise level. The energy book calculates energy usage structure, the emissions book calculates where emissions come from, and the potential book calculates how much more can be reduced. Only by combining the three books can one know which enterprises need to change processes, which need to switch to green electricity, and which need to cut production capacity. Without this set of base accounts, the park's carbon data can only be estimated.

The implementation of direct green electricity connections still requires cooperation from the power grid. Jinchang has promoted the 'one-to-one' and 'one-to-many' direct green electricity connection models, guiding enterprises to schedule energy-intensive processes during peak periods of renewable energy generation. The park's intelligent energy and carbon management platform integrates regional wind and solar resources, monitors energy consumption and carbon emissions in real time, and anticipates electricity loads. Only when power sources, loads, and dispatch are linked can green electricity become more than just a number on paper.

Investment is another barrier. A zero-carbon park is not just a label; it requires building distributed photovoltaics, energy storage, microgrids, energy and carbon platforms, and green electricity dedicated lines, often involving hundreds of millions of yuan. Among the first 52 parks, 24 are advancing major projects and key initiatives, which indicates that funding is already on the way; the remaining 28 are still in preliminary or planning stages, and their funding sources and business models are yet to be clarified.

The core of the business model is who bears the cost of the green premium. For enterprises in the park whose products are exported to Europe, carbon costs can be converted into order advantages. If products are sold domestically, the premium for green electricity is difficult to pass on to the selling price. This determines that zero-carbon parks advance faster in export-oriented parks and slower in domestic-demand-oriented parks.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China aims to establish around 100 national-level zero-carbon parks. Moving from a construction list of 52 parks to a target of 100 completed parks requires a path where each project is implemented individually. The value of the first batch of parks lies not only in their own completion but also in running through technical plans, evaluation systems, and acceptance processes, creating replicable templates.

For park managers, what must be avoided most is 'biting off more than you can chew.' The reminder from the National Development and Reform Commission is straightforward: scientifically formulate construction paths, ensure that technical plans are operable, engineering projects can be implemented, innovative initiatives can be carried out, and necessary funds are secured, avoiding blind decision-making and rushed execution. Zero-carbon parks are a marathon, not a sprint.

For technology service providers, opportunities lie in the details. Carbon management platforms, green electricity trading agents, energy storage configurations, process electrification transformations, and carbon footprint accounting—each of these can be standardized products. The simultaneous commencement of 52 parks means that these products are being validated at scale for the first time.

The 0.25-ton acceptance line, in essence, is asking a question: can a park change its energy structure without sacrificing output? The answer to this question does not lie in planning documents, but in the source of every kilowatt-hour of green electricity, the transformation of each production line, and the accounting of every single ledger.

The design of the acceptance process determines whether a park will 'emphasize construction while neglecting operation.' According to public requirements, a park must meet the target indicators and pass evaluation and acceptance to be officially recognized as a national zero-carbon park; the acceptance examines actual operational data, not planning documents. This requires the park to simultaneously set up carbon measurement and management systems during the construction period; otherwise, operational data cannot be obtained.

The differences in the paths of eastern and western parks will become apparent at the time of acceptance. Western parks can rely on wind and solar resources for a high proportion of direct green electricity supply, making it relatively easy to achieve the targets; eastern parks face land constraints and limited resources, so they must rely more on a combination of distributed photovoltaics, green electricity trading, cross-region power transmission, and energy-saving retrofits to meet the standards. The same set of indicators, two different approaches.

【Information and data in the text are sourced from: the publicly released list of the first batch of national zero-carbon parks by the National Development and Reform Commission, China Environment News report on January 2, 2026, Document No. 688 [2026] issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration, Xinhua Finance report on the construction of the zero-carbon park in Jinchang Economic Development Zone】

【Research Supporting Institutions: Energy and Dual-Carbon Research Center, China Industrial Newspaper | China Energy Industry Development Network】

Data sources referenced in this article: China Environment News, Xinhua Finance, the first batch of national zero-carbon park list by the National Development and Reform Commission, Document No. 688 [2026] issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration