Yantai: A Global Model for Low-Carbon Coastal Transformation

Yantai's Green Development Model: A Blueprint for Sustainable Bay Area Growth

Yantai, China – On December 4, the 2025 Shandong Green Low-carbon High-quality Development Conference took place in Yantai, Shandong province. This event coincided with the fifth anniversary of China’s “dual carbon” goals, which aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 and peak carbon emissions by 2030. Yantai, as one of the country’s first pilot cities for carbon peaking and for realizing the value of ecological products, has demonstrated achievements that go beyond local practice. These accomplishments serve as a significant example in the global discourse on sustainable development pathways for bay areas.

Bay areas have emerged as critical geographic units driving economic and technological change worldwide. From the precision manufacturing of Tokyo Bay to the financial innovation of New York Bay and the deep integration of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, these regions are shaping the future of global economies. In the context of the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea, Yantai stands out as a representative bay-area economy, addressing contemporary challenges through its green development practices.

As a cradle of China’s modern industry, Yantai’s industrial system spans 37 of the country’s 41 major industrial categories. It is the first ordinary prefecture-level city in northern China to join the “one-trillion-yuan GDP club,” and is recognized as the region’s strongest prefecture-level city. The city currently hosts more than 50 listed companies with a combined market value exceeding 1.2 trillion yuan.

In recent years, Yantai has prioritized clean energy as one of its 16 key industrial chains. The city is building a new energy system that integrates nuclear, wind, solar, and hydrogen power alongside energy storage and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Major projects in nuclear power, offshore wind power, and offshore photovoltaics have helped Yantai establish a distinct clean-energy identity.

The development of clean energy in Yantai has achieved eight notable “firsts,” including:

• Producing Shandong’s first kilowatt-hour of nuclear power and first kilowatt-hour of offshore wind power.
• Delivering China’s first kilowatt-hour from a pile-based fixed offshore photovoltaic project and the world’s first from a deep-sea floating offshore photovoltaic project.
• Completing the country’s first integrated demonstration of offshore wind power and marine ranching.
• Constructing the country’s largest coastal photovoltaic-plus-energy-storage station.
• Bringing the country’s first commercial nuclear energy heating demonstration project into operation.
• Achieving the highest installed clean-energy capacity in Shandong.

These accomplishments represent a systemic revolution in energy use, not just a collection of projects.

Data show that over the past three years, Yantai has reduced its energy consumption intensity by a cumulative 20.9%, meeting its energy saving and carbon reduction targets for 19 consecutive years. Its installed clean-energy capacity has now surpassed 17 million kilowatts.

Looking ahead, Yantai is charting a new growth path with six future-oriented industries—life sciences, deep-sea and aerospace technologies, next-generation nuclear power, artificial intelligence, new electronic materials, and humanoid robotics. These sectors are expected to drive green, low-carbon, high-quality development. The city projects that the total output value of industrial enterprises above the designated size will exceed 1.7 trillion yuan by 2027, a target supported by sustained investment in innovation.