On October 22-23, the World Economic Forum hosted the "Accelerating Industrial Transformation and Decarbonization 2024" summit in Tokyo, Japan. As one of the world's premier industry events, the summit convened top leaders from government, business, and academia, focusing on key issues surrounding digitalization and the global energy transition. Trinasolar, a leader in the global clean energy sector, was invited to participate in this high-profile summit, with Executive President Helena Li joining as a panelist in the session titled “Empowering the Digital Age: Aligning ICT and Clean Energy for a Sustainable Future”.
The era of digitalization and artificial intelligence has arrived, Li said. Clean energy and digitalization serve as mutual catalysts for each other's development. The growth of ICT requires significant energy resources, and data centers are adopting more efficient cooling and power management technologies to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, resulting in green computing. According to the International Energy Agency, data centers now account for about 1% of global electricity consumption. As we move toward carbon neutrality and sustainable development, the ICT industry is increasingly drawing on renewable energy sources.
The development of energy is poised to drive the growth of ICT, and energy will increasingly rely on ICT innovations, Li said. Power systems are evolving toward digitalization, higher proportions of renewable energy and distributed energy management. This evolution emphasizes intelligence, improved energy efficiency and resilience, all of which require robust ICT support. The application of ICT to power systems is evident in smart grids, data analysis and management, real-time monitoring and maintenance, distributed energy management, user interaction and demand response. The service aspect of the energy sector will become more pronounced, extending beyond simple electricity generation, transmission and consumption to encompass comprehensive energy service systems.
Advanced technologies and applications, including new energy sources, energy storage, distributed energy, virtual power plants, smart energy management and the Internet of Things are transforming energy into a service-oriented platform. Trinasolar offers energy management and total energy solutions, including solar-storage-hydrogen power stations and net-zero industry parks, which help vertical industry clients implement energy transition solutions. During the discussion, Li highlighted the success of a 4MW solar project at the XunCloud Data Center in Hebei province, north China, which is expected to generate 118 GWh of green electricity over the next 25 years. She also pointed to Trinsolar's smart microgrid project in the Maldives in which the company replaced diesel generators with an optimized microgrid system, delivering sustainable energy to 27 islands and benefiting 11,000 people. These innovations aim to provide more stable, reliable, resilient, flexible, and sustainable energy mixes, contributing to a more sustainable future.
Li emphasized that the development of smart, clean energy and digitalization cannot be left to just two industries. She advocated for cross-industry and cross-disciplinary collaboration, along with government initiatives and legislation, to build an ecosystem accelerating the transition to a green and sustainable power system.
The session, moderated by Kumiko Seto, a contributing editor of Forbes Japan, also included guests such as Yasuyuki Hasegawa, General Manager of the Nuclear Energy Business Unit at IHI Corporation, Tadataka Une, Country Manager of COPA-DATA Japan, Tomoki Yamane of NTT DATA Group, and Adrian Marcellus, CEO of MyDigital. The discussion underscored the importance of collaboration in the ICT industry and clean energy solutions for sustainable global growth.
Trinasolar drives sustainability by providing intelligent solar and energy storage solutions with a strong focus on technological innovation and collaboration. Partnering with the ICT industry, research institutions, governments, and grid systems, Trinasolar is dedicated to fostering a greener, more sustainable, and net-zero future.