The world's largest solar energy office building opened on November 27 in Dezhou, Shangdong Province in northwest China. The building, which has a total area of 75,000 square meters, features exhibition centers, scientific research facilities, meeting and training facilities, and a hotel.
The design of the building is based on the sun dial and underlines the urgency of seeking renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels. The design also features the Chinese characters for sun "日" and moon "月", and the color white predominates, symbolizing clean energy.
Green ideas have been applied throughout the construction. The external structure of the building used only one percent of the steel used to construct the Bird's Nest. Advanced roof and wall insulation mean energy savings 30 percent higher than the national energy saving standard.
The building will be the main venue for the 4th World Solar City Congress. The building's ground-breaking solar energy and power-saving technologies, some of which have already been patented, include a number of technical advances that will push forward the mass application of solar energy.