First wind turbine installed in China's westernmost prefecture

URUMQI -- The installation of the first wind turbine in China's westernmost Kizilsu Kirgiz autonomous prefecture in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region was completed Saturday morning.

As the wind speed dropped below 6 meters per second on Friday night, the 131-tonne turbine, with three 95-meter-long leaf blades, was lifted by two cranes and connected to a 110-meter-tall tower.

With an investment of over 1.2 billion yuan (about $175 million), a project consisting of 38 such wind turbines will be finished and connected to the grid by the third quarter this year, adding a total installed capacity of 200 megawatts, according to China Longyuan Power Group Corporation Limited under China Energy Investment Corporation.

Once the project is completed, the annual power generation is estimated to reach 540 million kWh, which can save 164,800 tonnes of standard coal and reduce 450,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year, said the project manager Qu Qiaogang.

At present, all electricity in Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture is generated by clean energy, with 60 percent hydropower and 40 percent photovoltaic power. The installed power capacity in Xinjiang has exceeded 100 million kilowatts, of which clean energy accounts for over 40 percent, according to the Xinjiang branch of the State Grid.

China has vowed to tackle climate change and unswervingly follow the path of green and low-carbon development. It has pledged to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.