In recent years, projects of cooperation in environmental protection technologies and green industry have been implemented in the joint pursuit of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
To build a green Belt and Road, China has worked with relevant countries to enhance cooperation in conserving the environment, protecting biodiversity, and tackling
climate change, launch green infrastructure projects, make green investments and provide green financing. According to data released by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, in the first half of 2020, the share of renewable energy investments was higher than that of fossil fuel energy investments in Belt and Road projects.
Fabiano Faria is a manager of the second phase of the Belo Monte 800KV ultra-high voltage (UHV) direct current transmission project in Brazil. Boarding a helicopter with his binoculars and digital camera, Faria and his colleagues flew a total of 67 hours in 12 days to inspect the 2,500-kilometer transmission line built by the State Grid Corporation of China.
The line transmits clean electricity from the Amazon Basin in northern Brazil to the populous south, crossing dense forests, vast plantations, and rolling mountains. During the construction of the project, the Chinese company employed over 600 plant and animal experts for the environmental protection work to minimize the impact of the project on the environment, Faria said. “The iron towers are tall so as not to hurt the trees. Moreover, the experts also did a good job in restoring the environment such as soil stabilization and reforestation,” he introduced. Since it started operation one year ago, the longest 800kV UHV transmission line in the world has met the electricity needs of about 22 million people, playing a vital role in promoting Brazil’s economic growth and the pursuit of green energy. On the reddish-brown hills of the Great Karoo Plateau in southern South Africa, white wind turbines operate slowly to generate electricity that can meet the needs of the nearby De Aar. As the largest wind power project in South Africa, it generates about 760 million kWh of green power for the area each year, saving 215,800 tons of standard coal and reducing 619,900 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year. It is expected to meet the electricity demand of 300,000 local households. Senior South African diplomat Gert Grobler pointed out that South Africa, a major electricity producing nation in Africa, generates 40 percent of all electricity on the continent, but over 90 percent of the country’s electricity is produced from coal. The new energy project undertaken by a Chinese company is changing the energy structure of South Africa, the diplomat said, adding that the project also conforms to the country’s national plan of reducing its dependence on thermal power and developing clean energy, thus making important contributions to promoting green development in Africa. In Britain, the largest energy storage project in Europe developed by China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd.—the British Mendi Battery Energy Storage Project began cold state commissioning on Aug. 25 This marked the project’s entry into the final stage of development and it is scheduled to be put into commercial operation by the end of the year.
– The Daily Mail-People’s Daily News exchange item
