Grevivals: Hi, it’s great to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us. Can you please tell us a bit about how MCSC got started?
Yolanda Yang: The beginning of MCSC can be traced back to the 3rd China-US Governors Forum in 2015. President Xi participated in the 3rd China-US Governors Forum on “Clean Energy and Economic Development” in Seattle. During this visit, President Xi came to California and witnessed the rapid development of the clean energy industry in California. He expressed his willingness to build clean energy R&D centers in China. In 2017, Governor of California Jerry Brown, visited China and initiated Sichuan-California cooperation in clean energy development. Sichuan and California then signed a sister province/state agreement to jointly build a digital, low carbon smart city. Inspired by the agreement, Meishan California Smart City (MCSC), with COFCO as the investment partner, was launched in Tianfu New Area of Sichuan province. In October 2021, MCSC Phase I, which includes a grand Exhibition Center and four office buildings, opened for occupancy, attracting over 20 global enterprises to land.
Grevivals: It is amazing that MCSC’s mission is to provide a productive and nurturing ecosystem for environmentally conscious companies!! We would love to know more about this noble mission.
Yolanda Yang: The strategic vision for MCSC was that it should become a model of sustainability, connectivity, and livability. Clean energy, smart city design, California’s pioneering style, and Silicon Valley’s innovation represent the four key foundations of MCSC. Clean energy and energy storage are the primary sustainability focuses of MCSC. Smart integration is the goal of the city construction. California style reflects the strong Sichuan-California cooperation. Forest Silicon Valley represents the concept of green space and park city planning throughout the development. Companies that come to MCSC will have the opportunity to collaborate with others in their sector to leverage resources and share knowledge, creating a win-win scenario for all participants.
Grevivals: What Makes MCSC Different from Other Smart Cities?
Yolanda Yang: First, MCSC grew out of China-US energy cooperation and is supported by Sichuan and California leaders. California is a pioneer in promoting the development of sustainable energy and plays an active role in global climate governance. Sichuan is the first national clean energy demonstration province in western China and has abundant clean energy resources. With such an environmentally centered background, Sichuan and California have established a solid foundation for clean energy development and collaboration in southwestern China. MCSC is a great realization of this. Second, MCSC is positioned as a global R&D innovation hub for clean energy development. MCSC is committed to providing whole life cycle services for settled enterprises, including R&D and design, product testing and inspection, and smart office space. At the same time, MCSC is exploring a variety of fund cooperation models to support enterprises with technology advancement and market growth.
Grevivals: What is the core philosophy of MCSC? What are your mission and vision?
Yolanda Yang: MCSC is a best practice example for comprehensive smart city-industry integration and takes the lead in implementing the concept of a “customized city”to offer what companies need to thrive. The MCSC development offers an ideal place suited for industry, business, education, and tourism, with excellent residential amenities, aiming to build a global new landmark for the clean energy industry and China’s first Energy Internet Silicon Valley.
Grevivals: How is MCSC helping us to fight against climate change?
Yolanda Yang: Climate change is a common challenge faced by the entire planet. At present, electricity is mainly derived from coal in many cities of China. However, statistics show that the current coal supply in China will only last another 40 years. We therefore need to find new breakthroughs in energy to support city development. Imagine if all the electricity for the entire city comes from clean energy resources, what an impact that would have in the battle against global climate change. MCSC is taking the lead in creating a comprehensive clean energy application scenario with energy storage technology as the core and smart distribution and services as the means, providing low-carbon and emission-reducing solutions to build a new smart city model in China that is energy-forward and fully sustainable.
Grevivals: Our readers would love to know more about your green technology and energy infrastructure.
Yolanda Yang: MCSC focuses on the application of clean energy technologies in the park, which not only guarantee stable power output, but also use the peak-to-valley price difference to reduce energy costs and improve energy efficiency. At the same time, MCSC leverages a smart digital twin big data system to monitor the energy usage of the city in real time and achieve self-sufficient electricity generation and production. In addition, smart offices, smart streetlights, smart operation and management will be applied to create a true smart city driven by clean energy technologies. Currently, over 20 global enterprises have settled in the MCSC, including DuPower, iFLYTEK, China Gas, Solar Tale, Zero Waste, Kodisoft, Rui Yan, US Group Consolidator. Some clean energy and energy storage technologies developed by these companies have been applied in the park, such as the photovoltaic power generation technology applied on the roof of MCSC’s Exhibition Center, the fast-charging pie with energy storage capacity, and the solar photovoltaic seat. MCSC’s Exhibition Center uses the distributed photovoltaic (330KW) to provide the park with approximately 330,000kWh of green electricity throughout the year, which reduces carbon emissions by approximately 250 tons per year
Yolanda Yang: The MCSC development is focused on the construction of four industrial ecosystems, with cutting-edge energy storage technologies including nextgeneration battery technology, hydrogen technology, heat and cold storage, and mechanical energy storage as the core ecosystem. It will connect upstream and downstream energy-storage systems and products to support energystorage dependent industries including smart home, new energy vehicles, and intelligent logistics to form a viable ecosystem community. In the fourth service-based ecosystem, MCSC expands the whole life cycle services of the industry such as R&D, production, and sales for enterprises in the other three ecosystems.
Grevivals: How are you gathering enterprises from all facets of green tech and beyond?
Yolanda Yang: We regard MCSC as a platform that provides enterprises with technological support, convenient lifestyle services, and state-of-the-art live/work facilities where networking is facilitated throughout. Enterprises can conduct innovative technology research and development at MCSC, and the results will be applied and displayed in the park. MCSC provides strong support with preferential policies, capital investment, and talent introduction. At the same time, MCSC focuses on the construction of leading-edge facilities including smart offices, smart transportation, and smart logistics, as well as using smart city operation and management through AI, big data and IoT technologies. MCSC invited international design firms AECOM and SWA to undertake urban planning and landscape design, and with their guidance, the park will offer a wealth of scientific and technological innovation spaces and functional platforms, smartly integrated urban infrastructure, tranquil living environments and essential services like schools, hospitals, shopping malls, together with a pristine, vibrant ecological landscape. MCSC integrates California style and culture of innovation and entrepreneurialism. Those working, living, and visiting MCSC can comfortably navigate the entire city, including workplace, shopping, entertainment facilities, schools, hospitals, and home in a matter of minutes.
Grevivals: Being a part of an environmentally conscious community, what kind of suggestions would you suggest for the new/upcoming “Green” startups/SME’s?
Yolanda Yang: As requirements for the environment are getting increasingly rigorous, there are growing investment and entrepreneurial opportunities for the energysaving and environmental protection industry. However, compared with other industries, there is a higher threshold for entrepreneurship due to the need for multiple access permits. For example, people can become Bill Gates overnight in the Internet industry because they directly face consumers. But in the field of energy-saving and environmental protection, most services target companies. This is a process that requires technological development. Many new energy-saving and environmental protection technologies have been successfully put into use after R&D and testing. Entrepreneurs in this field need to have a longer perspective and move forward carefully. At the same time, entrepreneurs can find an area at MCSC that suits their own development direction. This entry point needs to have a relatively large development space. MCSC will provide policy and financial support for settled enterprises, protect their original technologies, and provide R&D platforms and application scenarios for new technologies.
Grevivals: Is there something you would like to add?
Yolanda Yang: Some current photos are attached to provide a look at the progress of MCSC development for your reference. We also invite any company or innovator in the clean energy sector who is looking for a strategic venue and support for growth and development to come for a visit and see all that this unique development has to offer.
Mar 30, 2021
