In a milestone for sustainable construction, Qingdao City in east China's Shandong Province has inaugurated the world's first ultra zero-carbon office tower. Standing 117 meters tall and consuming around 6,000 kWh of electricity daily, this next-gen skyscraper is a blueprint for carbon-free urban workplaces.
Instead of traditional solar panels, the building wraps its east, south and west facades with photovoltaic glass curtain walls. This direct-current setup slashes energy loss and delivers roughly 25% of the tower’s daily power, cutting up to 500 tons of CO2 emissions annually.
Energy storage relies on a fleet of fourteen retired electric vehicle batteries. During sunny or off-peak hours, these batteries soak up excess green power from both the glass walls and the grid at a low cost of 0.22 yuan per kWh. They then dispatch clean energy during peak demand or low-sun periods, smoothing out the building’s power profile.
Inside, nearly 24,000 micro-sensors replace conventional switches to automate lighting, climate control and elevators. "By tapping 100% green electricity and smart digital systems, we save around 2,500 tons of carbon a year," says Yu Dexiang, chairman of TELD New Energy, one of the Chinese mainland’s largest EV charging pile network operators. "Digitalization trimmed our construction costs by 20–30%, boosted operational efficiency by 30% and slashed energy use by about 30%."
As global cities seek to balance growth with sustainability, innovations like Qingdao’s zero-carbon tower offer a scalable blueprint for the workplaces of tomorrow.
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World's 1st ultra zero-carbon building inaugurated in E China
cgtn.com
