Zhu Gongshan, executive chairman of the 16th International Photovoltaic Power Generation and Smart Energy Conference, chairman of the Global Green Energy Council, and chairman of the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association, said that in the 16 years since the conference was held, this is the only time that such an award has been given to a municipal government.

Baotou is awarded the title of World Green Silicon City at the conference. [Photo/WeChat account of Baotou Daily]

On May 23, Baotou was awarded the title of World Green Silicon City at the opening ceremony of the 16th International Solar Photovoltaic and Smart Energy Conference.

Baotou has become the first city in China to achieve an output value of over 100 billion yuan ($14.19 billion) in the PV industry in 2022. This is due to the presence of 13 leading enterprises, such as Tongwei, Daqo, GCL, and Xinte, who have settled in the city and formed a complete industrial chain of industrial silicon, polysilicon material, monocrystalline silicon rod, slices, and photovoltaic modules. This all happened just a few years after the first photovoltaic enterprise landed in Baotou.

Factories belonging to Inner Mongolia Tongwei High Purity Crystalline Silicon Co in Baotou. [Photo/WeChat account of Baotou Daily]

"We intend to build a 600-billion-yuan PV industry scale as soon as possible," said Liu Yongming, director of the Baotou development and reform commission.

Next, Baotou will ensure the low-carbon development of the whole PV chain. At the same time, the city will increase efforts to build a series of industrial ecologies, such as research and development, certification, and testing of the photovoltaic industry, to achieve the goal of ultimately supporting the whole industrial chain.

The conference participants expressed expectations of Baotou's future as an essential silicon production, research, and development base globally.

"In the future, together with Baotou, we will integrate more green electricity to produce green silicon-based materials and export green energy to the world," said Huang Hanjie, president of TBEA Co.