The opening ceremony of the fourth ISCI congress

The Fourth International Solar Cities Initiative (ISCI) World Congress kicked off in Dezhou, East China’s Shandong province, on September 16 and ended on September 18.

As an international solar gala, the congress gets support from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Housing and Urban-rural development, Ministry of Commerce, Energy Administration, Foreign Experts Affairs Administration, and Tourism Administration. It is also supported by Shandong Provincial Government and ISCI.

A total of 2981 members from more than 50 countries and regions, including the US, Japan and Germany, participated in the congress.

At the opening ceremony, China’s top officials introduced their support for the development of new energy in China.

Liu Qi, deputy director of China’s Energy Administration, said: “Recent years have seen China promoting the development of PV power system. Among these efforts the 10-megawatt solar power plant in Dunhuang, Gansu province and the bids to develop 13 solar power projects in the western region.”

China will continue to promote solar power system in a bid to cut emissions in cities around China, Liu Qi said.

The aim of the ISCI congress is to bring science and policy makers together, and to share practical knowledge for the transition to sustainable societies.

The ISCI congress is held every two years with previous ones held in Daegu, South Korea in 2004, Oxford, United Kingdom and Adelaide, Australia.

With the theme of “Solar Energy Changes Life”, the fourth ISCI congress presents various activities including forums, energy-saving and emission-reducing talks and solar products exhibitions.

Dezhou is a city famous for solar energy industry. In 2005, the city was awarded as the “Solar City” by China’s Solar Energy Association.

Domestic and overseas participants at the fourth ISCI congress

By Zhao Ruixue (China Daily Shandong Bureau)

Editor: Li Jing