Construction on China's first large-scale residential project designed to use "nearly zero energy" got underway in Dalian, Liaoning province on Sept 28.

China's national standard for nearly zero energy buildings requires all buildings to make full use of renewable energy, and use energy-efficient light bulbs, heating and insulation.

Costing nearly 5 billion yuan ($690 million), the 1,200-household project, which covers about 130,000 square meters near the southern coastal line of the Liaodong Peninsula, is expected to be completed in 2025.

Its public facilities will include a service center, energy center, kindergarten and farmers' market.

The residential area will utilize a nearby sewage plant as its renewable power source via a heat pump to provide the housing with heating and cooling.

Wang Dong, deputy director of the urban construction service center of Dalian's Zhongshan district, said the buildings will adopt high-performance insulation and double-glazed windows and utilize an efficient heat recovery ventilation system.

"Through its architectural design, the project will provide a comfortable indoor environment with only a very small amount of energy consumption. Buildings will be able to maintain a certain temperature range, have stable relative humidity, good sound insulation and qualified carbon dioxide and PM2.5 data," said Wang.

Last year, seven government institutions in Dalian released guidance on passive ultralow energy buildings, and encouraged the construction of nearly zero energy buildings.

"In the preliminary planning and promotion of this project, the local housing and urban-rural development bureau, and the natural resources bureau offered strong support," said Wang.

Energy-efficient buildings will play a role in achieving the peak carbon and carbon neutrality goals in the construction field, according to Zhao Yue, vice-chairman of the China Passive Building Alliance and vice-president of the Urban Development Design Group.

In recent years, ultralow energy buildings have become a trend. China has promulgated relevant policies to support their construction and many provinces and cities have issued intensive guidance documents. A raft of demonstration projects have been constructed.

"This direction will activate the entire construction industry," said Zhao. "As suppliers across the country become more sophisticated, costs are getting lower."

In March, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development released the development plan for energy efficiency and green buildings during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, setting out nine major tasks and targets, including the building over 50 million sq m of ultralow energy and nearly zero energy buildings by 2025.

By the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan, Beijing aims to promote a total of five million sq m of ultralow energy buildings, while Hebei plans to build 13.4 million sq m of nearly zero energy buildings.

Zhongshan district, Dalian, where the project is located, attaches great importance to the high-quality development of the construction industry, said Jiang Hongbo, head of the district's development and reform bureau.

By 2025, green buildings will account for more than 80 percent of the new buildings in the district, she said.