Yingli Green Energy announced it has led the development of The Clean Production Evaluation Index System for PV Cells to promote clean production in China’s PV industry.
The system was developed under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
The System was jointly developed by China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS), Yingli, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and other leading China’s PV companies.
The establishment of the System was one of the commitments made by Yingli, as the first Chinese company and the first solar PV manufacturer, when joining the WWF Climate Savers Program in 2013.
As the first evaluation system of China’s solar PV industry, the System establishes comprehensive evaluation indexes on the production of solar PV cells including the production process, equipment used, energy consumption, comprehensive utilization of resources, pollution emissions, product features, and clean production management.
The System will support improved energy conservation, pollution prevention, sustainable development, and lead to a more environmentally friendly Chinese solar PV industry, according to Yingli.
“Technical standards are one of the most important measures to promote supply-side structural reform, optimize industrial restructuring, and enhance the capability of independent innovation,” said Wang Bohua, secretary general of China Photovoltaic Industry Association.
“The establishment of the System could help China’s solar PV cell manufactures to promote cleaner production, improve energy conservation and reductions in emissions,” Bohua said. “The System is crucial for the sustainable development of China’s solar PV cell production and the construction of an environmentally friendly society.”
“The System has set up a series of world leading indicators for the production of solar PV cells. Once achieved, it can help China’s solar PV cell manufacturers reduce their energy consumption by approximately 20 percent, cut the emissions of nitrogen oxide and chemical oxygen demand both by 14 percent, which leads to a significant reduction of solar PV panel’s energy recovery period from 1.17 year to 1 year or nearly 15 percent,” said Song Dengyuan, chief technology officer of Yingli. “It will make the solar PV industry greener and promote the concept of clean production throughout the industry.”