Xinjiang rides clean energy wave to power transition

URUMQI -- A 1,000-megawatt power project combining solar thermal and photovoltaic power generation has been connected to the grid in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, becoming a model for the region in making better use of renewable energy.

The project, the largest of its kind in China, was put into full operation in the city of Hami on Thursday.

A 100-megawatt molten salt solar thermal section of the project has adopted advanced Linear Fresnel technology -- one of the most advanced solar thermal power generation methods, using the principles of light reflection and refraction to convert solar thermal energy into electricity. It can generate 148 million kilowatt-hours of clean power annually, which will reduce carbon emissions by 1.3 million tonnes.

"Through this technology, molten salt acts like a super 'power bank,' storing heat collected from 260,000 mirrors under the sun during the day and generating power at night, enabling continuous electricity generation and lowering costs," said Huang Longfei, a deputy manager of the project's solar thermal section.

Xinjiang, the largest provincial-level administrative region in China, has abundant solar and wind resources.

As China has been striving to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, an increasing number of Chinese companies are developing clean energy in Xinjiang, driving the region's green development, bringing employment and contributing to the country's dual-carbon goals.

According to a white paper issued last year, clean energy accounted for 26.4 percent of China's total energy use in 2023 -- up from 15.5 percent in 2013 -- and the share of coal in its energy consumption has dropped by 12.1 percentage points over the past decade.

Electricity generated from clean energy has accounted for more than half of the increase in the country's total electricity consumption over the past decade, demonstrating the growing share green energy has in its energy mix.

Eyeing the potential for the wind power industry in the region, wind turbine manufacturer Yuexin Green Energy Group has invested 4 billion yuan (about $562 million) to build an assembly line and a blade production base in Xinjiang's Turpan city.

According to the group's general manager Qiu Yong, the city's central location within Xinjiang's major wind power zones helps cut transport costs.

Qiu also highlighted the company's strategic focus on Central Asian markets. "We received an order for 200 wind turbines from Kazakhstan soon after construction of the blade production base began last year," he said, adding that the two facilities have opened some 2,000 jobs.

After graduating from university, local resident Maraba Mahmut works as an administrative specialist for the company, earning about 6,000 yuan a month.

"With the job near my home, I can take care of my family," said the 27-year-old.

Qiu noted that the company has also attracted upstream and downstream firms to invest in Turpan, which will help complete the industrial chain for wind turbine manufacturing in the city.

"With an industrial cluster being established, we are quite confident about the business prospects here," he said.