Zhejiang village cooks up a green environment

Xueshuigang village of Haiyan county in East China's Zhejiang province has accelerated the transit from traditional soil stoves to electric ones in its residents homes to promote a lifestyle of low-carbon.

The soil stoves in the village conventionally use straw and tree branches as fuel resulting in a large amount of smoke and dust produced during the cooking process.

According to Chen Yuliang, Party chief of Xueshuigang, the village first started transitioning in 2019 and 639 households are currently using electric stoves, reducing firewood consumption by about 10.15 tons and reducing carbon emissions by 18.61 tons.

"Electric stoves can help to retain the community's habit of cooking in large pots and can also reduce air pollution. They are safer and greener," Chen said.

The low-carbon life style has strong support amongst villagers; Xueshuigang is now striding to build a village of "zero-carbon" in the hopes to achieve a better green-living.

The village is now optimizing the energy structure by promoting the construction of photovoltaic power projects. Most of the street lamps and various lights in the village are now powered by solar photovoltaic panels that are laid on the roofs of the cottages.

According to Chen, the annual photovoltaic power generation of the village is about 17.28 million kWh, resulting in carbon emission reducing by 16,600 tons.

"In the next two years, the village plans to deploy 2.8 MW of photovoltaic power and finally achieve a 'zero carbon increase'", Chen said.

Warren Singh Bartlett, a foreign expert from China Daily, visited Xueshuigang village with the international media tour, "A Date with China", on Monday. Bartlett said the transition to electricity is obviously a more environment-friendly solution. "This kind of upgrade not only reduces carbon emissions, but also enables the inheritance of tradition. It is a very meaningful attempt," Bartlett said.