In the context of the in-depth promotion of the "dual carbon" goal, zero-carbon parks, as the practical carrier of collaborative decarbonization of energy systems and industrial systems, are undergoing a process of promoting from policy pilots to global promotion. Since the 2024 Central Economic Work Conference first proposed the goal of building "zerocarbon parks", Premier Li Qiang proposed in the government work report at the National Two Sessions in March 2025 to "solidly carry out the second batch of pilots for national carbon peaking and establish a number of zerocarbon parks and zerocarbon factories", and 28 out of 31 provinces across the country have included them in the government work report. At present, the construction of zerocarbon parks has broken through the stage of simple energy efficiency improvement and turned to indepth changes covering system design, technological innovation, and system integration. Based on the current development status of domestic pilot park construction, this paper reveals the deep contradictions such as green power trading barriers, industrial transformation pains, and digital governance shortcomings in park construction, and proposes an operable "policymarkettechnology" collaborative solution to provide theoretical support and practical path for building a new energy system under the "dual carbon" goal.

The zerocarbon park is a sustainable development model that aims to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the life cycle, and realizes a dynamic balance between carbon emissions and carbon absorption by coordinating energy production, consumption, industrial operation, building operation and transportation systems. Its characteristics are reflected in three aspects: first, it is systematic, covering the whole chain of energy, construction, industry and transportation; second, it is differentiated, and it is necessary to formulate personalized paths according to the functions of the park (such as industry, science and technology, logistics, etc.); The third is innovation, relying on clean energy substitution, energy efficiency improvement, circular economy and carbon sink technology to achieve netzero emissions. Different parks need to build differentiated solutions around energy structure optimization, carbon emission characterization and technological innovation in key areas (industry, construction, transportation).

The following table reveals the correlation between the functional positioning of different parks and the zerocarbon path based on the six major park types. Industrial zones and port logistics parks are dominated by industrial energy consumption and transportation energy consumption respectively, and need to focus on clean energy substitution and efficiency improvement. Data centers, technology parks, and business parks are energyintensive buildings that rely on smart energy management (e.g., data center PUE optimization) and zerocarbon building design. Tourist areas have the characteristics of high energy consumption in both building and transportation, and need to combine carbon sink resources to develop lowcarbon facilities and green experiences. Despite significant differences in paths, all parks need to integrate renewable energy applications, system energy efficiency optimization, and digital carbon management, highlighting the dual logic of "typing policies" and "system collaboration" in the zero-carbon transition.

The construction of zerocarbonparksisareconstruction of theeconomicdevelopmentmodelandenergysystem, and itscoreliesinbuilding a closedloopecologyof"netzeroemissions"throughtechnologicalinnovation,institutionaldesignandindustrialcollaboration.Specifically,itisreflectedinthefollowingthreeaspects:

The first is the toplevel design based on policy and institutional innovation. The construction of zerocarbon parks in our country relies on the support of the systematic policy framework under the "dual carbon" goal, and its institutional evolution has undergone a progressive process from lowcarbon pilot to zerocarbon standardization. From the exploration of lowcarbon economy in ecological industrial demonstration parks during the "Eleventh FiveYear Plan" period, to the "1N" policy system during the "14th FiveYear Plan" period, which clearly put forward the construction goals of green industrial parks, and then to the Central Economic Work Conference in 2024, which elevated "zerocarbon parks" to a national strategy for the first time, the policy has gradually shifted from local pilots to global norms. At present, local grassroots innovation (such as Shandong's "Implementation Plan for NearZero Carbon Parks" and Anhui's "Zero Carbon Industrial Park Construction Plan") interacts with the formulation of national standards, and builds a full life cycle system covering planning, technology, management and certification through the reconstruction of the industrial chain of "horizontal coupling and vertical extension", providing legal basis and systematic guidance for the transformation of the park.

The second is the power mechanism with technology integration and application as the core. The essence of the zerocarbon park is a composite innovation of lowcarbon, zerocarbon, and negative carbon technology. On the one hand, the clean energy system realizes the decarbonization of energy supply through the "integration of wind, solar and storage", for example, Dafeng Port Park achieves 100% clean energy coverage through the green power traceability platform, and 80% of the energy of Ordos Industrial Park comes from the wind and solar storage system; On the other hand, the digital energy and carbon management system reconstructs the park management paradigm and relies on artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and other technologies to build a "carbon nerve center", such as the smart microgrid in Xiong'an New Area to achieve power selfsufficiency, and the Sheyang Port Park monitors carbon emissions in real time through a large data screen. Technological breakthroughs not only reduce the cost of energy transition, but also form a superposition effect from energy substitution to energy efficiency improvement through production process innovation (such as waste heat recovery, carbon capture) and production relationship reshaping (such as digital twins and blockchain authentication).

First, the problem of synergy with the interests of power grid companies: "direct supply of green electricity" and "selling electricity through walls" reduce the amount of power transmitted from the power grid company's network, and the reduction of market share will directly reduce the transmission and distribution income of power grid companies. Therefore, the promotion of the direct supply model needs to consider coordinating with the interests of the power grid company. Second, the qualification restrictions of distributed projects: distributed green power projects lack power generation business licenses, cannot complete the "white list" registration of green electricity in the trading center, and do not have the conditions for direct transactions with users. The power generation of distributed photovoltaic projects can only be consumed within the red line of the factory area, and the sale of electricity through the wall cannot be realized. Third, the cost risk caused by backup: the volatility of new energy, the intermittent power generation characteristics and load matching insufficient lead to the inability of the park to operate on the isolated grid, and the large power grid needs to provide backup safety coverage, and the planned capacity of the grid backup connection line covers the maximum load of the park. For power grid companies, compared with the traditional relatively stable load, considering the low utilization rate of spare assets in zerocarbon parks after direct green power supply, there is a risk of effective asset approval due to low asset utilization, and on the other hand, there is an unreasonable problem of large investment in backup assets through the joint sharing of transmission and distribution fees by all end users. For park users, when adopting the green electricity direct supply model, although the cost of renewable energy has decreased, if 100% green electricity direct supply is adopted, the overall cost of the project is still high, and the investment in energy storage equipment, transmission facilities, userend transformation and maintenance is higher, of which the cost of energy storage equipment may account for 40% of the total project cost. At the same time, users still need to bear fixed capacity fees, that is, users switch to green electricity direct supply to reduce the pressure on the grid, but they still need to pay capacity fees that do not match the actual electricity load, resulting in high energy costs.

In terms of the bottleneck of the direct supply of green electricity and the main body of dedicated line construction, our country government has actively introduced relevant policies to clarify it. In May 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the "Notice on Matters Concerning the Orderly Promotion of the Development of Green Power Direct Connection" (Development and Reform Energy [2025] No. 650, hereinafter referred to as Document No. 650), paving the way for the implementation of the "pointtopoint" direct supply model for new energy sources such as wind power, solar power generation, and biomass power generation at the national level for the first time. Circular 650 clearly defines the green power direct connection mode: new energy is not connected to the public power grid, but directly supplies power to a single user with the help of a dedicated line, so as to realize the physical traceability of electricity.

In terms of investment entities, Circular No. 650 clarifies that direct connection lines are invested by load and power supply entities in principle, which is different from the previous policies of Jiangsu, Shandong and other places that require power grid enterprises to build green power private lines in a unified manner.

In terms of electricity sales qualifications for distributed projects, the "Guiding Opinions on Supporting the Innovation and Development of New Business Entities in the Power Sector" issued by the National Energy Administration on December 5, 2024 makes important provisions, which clearly states that new business entities can be exempted from applying for power business licenses in principle, which effectively solves the problem that distributed projects cannot directly participate in green electricity trading due to the lack of power generation business licenses. At the same time, this policy supports the exploration of a new energy direct connection mechanism, which means that enterprises can sell the power generation of distributed photovoltaic projects to electricity users outside the red line range of the site area in the same distribution station area by registering as a new business entity, so as to achieve "wall sales of electricity".

Circular No. 650 also clearly states that new energy power generation projects in the project are exempt from power business licenses (unless otherwise specified). These two policies are interconnected, further providing a clear policy basis and support for distributed projects to participate in green electricity trading and realizing "wall sales", lowering the entry threshold for market players, stimulating the vitality of new business entities, and promoting the healthy development of green power direct connection and distributed new energy markets.

In response to the risk of backup costs and expenses in zerocarbon parks, although some regions have introduced capacity electricity fee reduction and exemption policies, such fee reductions are only a symptomatic measure. To fundamentally solve the problem of backup costs, the key is to reduce the backup dependence of zerocarbon parks on large power grids, which requires indepth exploration from the dimensions of market mechanism design and energy integration within the park.

Circular 650 provides important policy guidelines: First, it is clear that gridconnected projects and public power grids use the property rights demarcation point as the safety responsibility interface, and both parties perform their respective power safety risk management and control responsibilities, which helps project entities optimize backup management; The second is to require the project entity to coordinate various factors to independently and reasonably declare the gridconnected capacity, negotiate with the power grid enterprise to determine the power supply responsibilities and expenses outside the gridconnected capacity, the power grid enterprise to perform the power supply responsibility according to the declared capacity, and the project entity to adjust the internal power generation and load to ensure that the exchange power does not exceed the declared capacity and bear the responsibility for power supply interruption caused by its own reasons. This policy mechanism can not only reduce the backup cost, but also promote the autonomy and flexibility of the internal energy system in zero-carbon parks, providing a feasible and forward-looking realization path for solving the problem of backup cost.

The industrial optimization of zero-carbon parks faces the dual pressure of difficulties in the transformation of traditional industries and the insufficient application of emerging technologies: on the one hand, there are technical barriers and cost bottlenecks in the zero-carbon transformation of high-energy-consuming industries (such as steel and chemicals). Taking hydrogen steelmaking as an example, its equipment renewal requires billions of yuan of investment, and the cost of hydrogen storage, transportation and green hydrogen production is high, making it difficult to replace the traditional blast furnace process in the short term. Although some parks have introduced new energy industry chains to form an agglomeration effect, the coordination of upstream and downstream enterprises is insufficient. On the other hand, the cost of zero-carbon infrastructure transformation and the lack of technological maturity restrict development. The construction of smart microgrids and distributed energy systems requires a lot of upfront investment, while technologies such as long-term energy storage and low-cost carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) are still in the demonstration stage. In addition, the fragmentation of technology application scenarios has exacerbated cost pressure: enterprises in the park often need to customize the energy system, but the lack of standardized solutions makes it difficult to reduce marginal costs. These factors collectively lead to the dilemma of "high investment and low return" in the construction of zerocarbon parks, especially for small and mediumsized parks, where the coverage of financial subsidies and policy incentives is limited, further delaying the process of industrial transformation.

Thelagofdigitalempowermentandfactorallocationseriouslyrestrictsthelargescaledevelopmentofzerocarbonparks. At the digital level,most parks have not yet established afulllife cycle carbon emission management system,and their data monitoring and accounting capabilities are weak.For example,only 30%of parks realize realtime collection of enterprise energy consumption data,and carbon emission accounting mostly relies on theoretical models rather than measured data,with an error rate of 20%~30%.There is also atendency to "emphasize hardware over software"in the application of intelligent technology:some parks have deployed energy management platforms,but the algorithm optimization ability is insufficient,and the collaborative scheduling of wind,solar storage and load cannot be realized.In terms of factor allocation,the lack of standards and resource constraints are prominent.The zerocarbon evaluation system has not yet been unified,and the differences in carbon emission accounting methods in various regions have hindered crossregional cooperation.The contradiction of land resource constraints is also acute:distributed photovoltaics need to occupy 30%~40%of the roof or ground area of the park,but in areas with tight industrial land indicators (such as the Yangtze River Delta), they are forced to abandon some new energy projects.In terms of talents,the professional talent gap restricts the implementation of technology,and compound talents who understand both energy systems and carbon management are scarce.Theaboveproblemsshowthat the constructionofzero-carbonparksurgentlyneedstobuild a trinityof"standards-data-talent"supportsystemtobreakthroughthebottleneckofcurrentinefficientmanagement.

Improve the policy and market coordination mechanism and build a full-chain emission reduction system

The construction of zerocarbon parks needs to be driven by policy innovation to promote the deep coupling of marketoriented mechanisms and emission reduction goals. At present, the coverage of the carbon market is limited, and an effective carbon emission assessment mechanism has not yet been formed on the terminal energy consumption side, resulting in insufficient emission reduction motivation for enterprises in the park. On the one hand, it is necessary to accelerate the establishment of a carbon accounting standard system covering the entire industry chain, include terminal energy users such as industry, construction, and transportation in the scope of assessment, and make carbon emission costs explicit through mechanisms such as carbon quota allocation and green electricity deduction. On the other hand, improve the construction of the capacity market system as soon as possible, and build a capacity market mechanism that includes peak shaving power supply, emergency backup power supply, and energy storage power station pilot. In this way, zerocarbon parks can participate in capacity market transactions to purchase or provide backup capacity according to their own needs, thereby reducing their dependence on large grid backups. At the same time, it is urgent to strengthen the synergy and linkage between the electricity market, the carbon market and the energy trading market, and promote the linkage between green electricity trading and carbon quota payment. By breaking down policy barriers and activating market elements, we will promote the zero-carbon transformation from administrative-driven to economic value-driven, form a closed-loop mechanism of "assessment-transaction-income", and enhance the endogenous driving force of low-carbon development in the park.

The core of the zerocarbon park lies in building an efficient and flexible new energy system. It is necessary to use the smart grid as the hub to break through key technologies such as multienergy complementarity and sourcegridloadstorage collaboration, so as to achieve dynamic synergy and balance of various energy forms such as electricity, heat, cooling, and gas. On the one hand, it is necessary to promote the system integration of clean energy facilities such as distributed photovoltaics, energy storage, and hydrogen energy, and achieve accurate matching of supply and demand through digital technology, such as using AI algorithms to predict load fluctuations and optimize energy storage charging and discharging strategies to maximize the consumption rate of renewable energy. On the other hand, it is necessary to reconstruct the energy management structure of the park, integrate decentralized distributed power generation, flexible loads, and energy storage equipment into virtual power plants, and participate in the electricity spot market through centralized scheduling to reduce dependence on large power grids. Through technological innovation and system reconstruction, we will break through the supply bottleneck of a single energy variety and upgrade zerocarbon transformation from equipment superposition to systematic optimization, thereby reducing energy consumption and carbon emission intensity per unit of GDP.

Thesustainabledevelopmentofzero-carbonparksrequirestheconstructionofamarket-orientedoperationmechanismandabenefit-sharingecology. By reconstructing the distribution logic of the value chain,the zerocarbon park will be transformed from a cost center to avalue creation center,forming abenign development pattern of government guidance,market leadership,and diversified participation.On the investment side,we can explore the combination of "green finance and carbon finance"to develop carbon income pledge financing products and convert longterm emission reduction income into current financial support.On the operation side,expand valueadded businesses such as integrated energy services and carbon asset management,and create revenue growth points through derivative services such as carbon footprint certification and green certificate trading.Atthemarketsystemlevel,itisnecessarytodesignamultipartywinwinmechanism,exploreallowingpowergridenterprisestoinvestinvirtualpowerplantprojectswithcapacityresources,andenergyenterprisestoobtainreturnsthroughenergy-savingbenefitsharing,soastomobilizetheenthusiasmoftechnologysuppliers,operators,usersandotherentities.