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Factories in Ningbo, one of China’s leading manufacturing hubs, are installing rooftop photovoltaic panels to cope with surging power demand under China’s “Six Networks” initiative, a move that has driven an infrastructure upgrade to the local grid system.
China is mulling multi-trillion-yuan investment through the “Six Networks” initiative, as the country works to expand domestic demand and stabilize economic growth amid external uncertainties and lingering domestic supply-demand imbalances.
The “Six Networks” refer to water networks, new-type power grids, computing power networks, next-generation communication networks, urban underground pipeline networks and logistics networks.
At a manufacturing base in Ningbo, smart production lines are running at full capacity, with part of the electricity supplied by the base’s rooftop photovoltaic panels. To date, Ningbo’s rooftop photovoltaic panels would cover an area equivalent to 5,000 standard football fields if put together, with an installed capacity exceeding 10 million kilowatts.
Rooftop photovoltaic panels not only help address the base’s power demand, it also brings extra income to the base, its business head said.
“The company can save over 10 million yuan (around 1.49 million U.S. dollars) in energy costs every year. The surplus electricity can be supplied to the grid to generate revenue. It’s like building another production line for the company on the rooftop,” said Ma Ji, business head of Ningbo FOTILE Kitchen Ware Co., Ltd.
But when massive numbers of photovoltaic panels are connected to the grid, how should it respond to this “stress test”? The Ningbo Power Supply Command Center faced this challenge.
“In the past, electricity was sent from our power plants to every household. It was a ‘single lane’. But now, with so many photovoltaic panels on rooftops, each like a small power plant, feeding electricity into the grid, it needs to become a ‘double lane’. Our lines simply cannot handle it,” said Lu Zhiming, director of the Power Supply Service Command Center, State Grid Ningbo Power Supply Company.
Ningbo’s challenge is also a challenge for the construction of new-type power grids across the country. Currently, new energy installed capacity is growing by about 200 million kilowatts annually on average, urgently requiring a stronger new-type power grid that allows clean electricity to be generated, transmitted and used reliably.
Recently, State Grid technicians have been installing a set of devices on poles and towers in the streets and alleys, turning invisible information such as photovoltaic output, power flow and line load into an intuitive map of tidal energy. Researchers have loaded massive meteorological data into the power dispatch system, using future sunlight and temperature forecasts to calculate in advance the changes in photovoltaic power generation.
“Through using this model, we have improved our forecast accuracy to over 96 percent. It has transformed our grid dispatch mode from passive response to proactive prediction and control, giving us much more confidence,” said Cai Zhenhua, a level-4 expert at the Power Dispatch Center, State Grid Ningbo Power Supply Company.
This exploration makes large-scale newly connected new energy more predictable, dispatchable and controllable.
China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, covering the period from 2026 to 2030, addresses the upgrading of traditional forms of infrastructure and the development of new ones. These infrastructure networks are coordinated, mutually reinforcing, and essential for daily life, guaranteeing stable power, faster connectivity, water security, safe and clean cities, and efficient deliveries.
The country’s cutting-edge infrastructure coordination mechanisms are already delivering results. Along the Pinglu Canal and at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, water transport, logistics, and digital networks are being advanced together to expand capacity, improve flood control, and raise efficiency. And China’s computing hubs, power grids and computing networks are continuously sharing data to better match supply with demand.
Ningbo’s “rooftop solar boom” drives State Grid’s infrastructure upgrade
The Gaza Strip has suffered severe casualties and heavy economic losses during the past three years of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, according to a statement from the Hamas-run Gaza Government Media Office.
The media office on Wednesday issued a statement saying that the ongoing conflict has claimed the lives of more than 74,000 people in the Gaza Strip, displaced more than 2 million people from their homes, and caused direct economic losses totaling over 80 billion U.S. dollars.
The statement said that in terms of economic damage, the residential sector had suffered the heaviest impact, amounting to approximately 34 billion dollars; healthcare and municipal public services had each sustained losses of around 6 billion dollars; the commercial, industrial, and agricultural sectors had incurred combined losses of approximately 13 billion dollars; and sectors such as telecommunications and education had also suffered severe losses.
The statement noted that the ongoing blockade and conflict have dealt a devastating blow to local livelihoods; over 87 percent of the Gaza Strip’s agricultural land and greenhouses has been destroyed, and 8,700 agricultural wells have been rendered inoperable, causing annual fruit and vegetable yields to plummet from 524,000 tons to just 20,000 tons.
The statement said that over the three years of conflict, the Israeli military has dropped more than 230,000 tons of explosives on the Gaza Strip, resulting in damage to over 90 percent of the Strip, including the complete destruction of more than 335,000 buildings.
Through its military operations and forced displacement, the Israeli military now effectively controls more than 80 percent of the territory in the Gaza Strip, the statement said.
The recorded death toll in the Gaza Strip has reached 74,250, with approximately 9,500 others believed to be still buried under the rubble or missing, the statement said, adding that more than 55 percent of those killed were children, women, and the elderly.
The ongoing conflict has also claimed the lives of 1,723 healthcare workers, 149 civil defense and rescue personnel, and 262 media professionals, according to the statement.
Only 19 of the 38 hospitals in the Gaza Strip remain partially operational, while medical services in northern Gaza and the Rafah area have completely collapsed, the statement said.
Across the Gaza Strip, 97 percent of school buildings have sustained damage, and more than 740,000 students have been deprived of their right to education, according to the statement.
The statement also blamed Israel’s obstruction of aid corridors for a severe humanitarian disaster, resulting in 460 deaths — including 164 children — due to acute hunger and malnutrition.
Gaza suffers severe casualties, economic losses in three-year conflict
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