The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, visited the energy facilities of the China Southern Power Grid in Zhuhai and Nansha, Guangzhou, in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area today (March 7).
Mr Tse first visited the Guishan Offshore Wind Farm in Zhuhai and was briefed by a representative on the development background and operation of the facilities. He then proceeded to Nansha, Guangzhou, to visit the "Multi-in-One" micro energy grid project, which is the first demonstration project of China-Finland energy co-operation. The project, commissioned in 2022, is equipped with facilities such as solid oxide fuel cells, a solar thermal heating system and a bedrock energy storage system. The project contributes to the research and improvement of energy utilisation efficiency, aiming to achieve energy saving and carbon emission reduction.
In the afternoon, Mr Tse visited the Xiaohu Island Electric Hydrogen Smart Energy Station in Nansha, Guangzhou. Having commenced operation in March last year, it is a demonstration project under the National Key Research and Development Programme as well as the first grid-side energy storage type hydrogen refueling station on the Mainland to utilise solid-state hydrogen storage technology. Mr Tse also exchanged experiences with the relevant staff on the applications of the energy facilities visited today.
Mr Tse said, "To meet the overall target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is enhancing the fuel mix for electricity generation and progressively increasing the use of zero-carbon energy for electricity generation. The HKSAR Government will continue to explore ways to enhance regional co-operation and identify sources of zero-carbon energy and technology in neighbouring regions to enable Hong Kong to use more clean fuels and progressively rely less on fossil fuel in electricity generation.
"In terms of hydrogen development in the future, the HKSAR Government set up the Interdepartmental Working Group on Using Hydrogen as Fuel in 2022 to study the development and commercialisation of various hydrogen energy technologies and promote the application of hydrogen energy through different trial projects in the local community. The Strategy of Hydrogen Development in Hong Kong will be announced in the second quarter of this year to provide details on the challenges and direction of hydrogen development in Hong Kong."
After the visits, Mr Tse returned to Hong Kong in the evening.
Ends/Thursday, March 7, 2024
Issued at HKT 19:25
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