Industrial energy consumption has long been significant in China’s final energy use. Over half of it is dedicated to heating. Historically, industrial energy supply mainly relies on fossil fuels. Now, a shift toward renewable resources is being driven by competitive costs and technological advancements. Relocating new capacity in energy-intensive industries or park-based projects to renewable-rich areas with weak grids for local utilization is a pivotal trend. Renewable energy-based heating methods were systematically reviewed to address the challenge of large-scale green energy utilization in industry. Thermal energy requirements and heat utilization characteristics were studied in various typical industries, including energy-intensive sectors such as metallurgy and petrochemicals, as well as high thermal demand fields like textiles and pharmaceuticals. Furthermore, the potential for green heating retrofitting was evaluated to provide a reference for related electrification research. Analysis results indicate that indirect renewable electric heating holds greater application potential. The utilization of multiple on-site renewable sources for heating will be an important development direction.