Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1483036
50 tobaccoasia Issue 6, 2022 November / December to guide tobacco farmers to orderly carry out the transition from diesel and gasoline engines to "new energy farm machinery". A beam of sunlight opens a new way to save energy and reduce carbon To make full use of natural energy, China Tobacco (Changde) Machinery adopts a solar energy light- ing system for outdoor lighting, which can reduce electricity consumption by 14,700 kW h per year. LED luminaires throughout the factory with the industrial lighting control system allow for visual- ized and standardized lighting control, effectively saving about 30% of lighting energy consumption each year. As a clean energy source, solar energy has multiple utilization values. In addition to the natural light conduit in the joint workshop, Hangzhou To- bacco Factory under China Tobacco (Zhejiang) In- dustrial Corporation also converts solar energy into heat energy for domestic and production heating. The orderly-arranged solar collectors can be seen on the roof of the office building, joint workshop, and waste warehouse of Hangzhou Tobacco Factory. The heat energy from solar energy will heat the roof hot water tank, supply hot water for kitchens, bathrooms, washrooms, and the cleaning of cigarette making, tipping, and packaging workshop, etc. As a state-owned firm, China Tobacco has practiced the new development concept and dem- onstrated its responsibilities to achieve the goal of "double carbon". For instance, in the first half of 2022, the comprehensive energy consump- tion level of Hefei Tobacco Factory decreased by 17.9% year on year. This was a record low level of energy consumption by the factory in a half-hear period over the past decade. China Tobacco (Si- chuan) Industrial Corporation continues to invest in green energy conservation projects. In 2021, its energy consumption per RMB10,000 of industrial added value further reduced, the total amount of smoke and dust emissions achieved double-digit decline, and the recycling rate of packaging boxes greatly increased. The energy consumption index of China Tobacco (Hubei) Industrial Corporation has always been in the forefront of the industry. In 2021, its carbon verification emissions decreased by 13% on the same caliber, and the carbon emis- sion intensity down by 16%. Introducing biological control, turning waste into treasure, developing tobacco industry complex, and initiating new energy program…all these efforts are just a microcosm of the Chinese tobacco industry to seek green and low-carbon de- velopment with new technologies, new materials, and new products. Solar-powered street lamp in Changde Machinery factory. A farmer from Weijiatun, Jinbao town, Zhenyuan county, Guizhou province shows his curing tobacco.