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Xinhua Headlines: Solar, wind energy boom powers China’s carbon-neutral drive

Abstract : The far west Chinese region has been a pioneer in the country's new energy drive by turning its natural endowments into power for a greener future. A mountainous district in its capital city Urumqi is known as the cradle of China's wind power industry.

by Xinhua writers Zhang Zhongkai, Du Gang, Fang Ning

URUMQI, April 28 (Xinhua) — In the vast Gobi desert in the east of
China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, over 10,000 pentagon-shaped
mirror-like devices form layers of circles, resembling a radiating sun.
At the very center of the “sun” stands a 220-meter-high tower.

It is not a mysterious ritual from the old days, nor artwork. The
project is a modern attempt by the region to capitalize on its abundant
solar energy and turn it into heat and power.

The photothermal power station is the first of its kind in Xinjiang.
It can generate power equivalent to that of burning some 60,000 tonnes
of standard coal each year, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over
150,000 tonnes, lending steam to the country’s goal to strive for carbon
emission peak in 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060.

With the largest land area among provincial level regions in China,
Xinjiang is home to vast expanses of Gobi deserts with limited rainfall
but strong wind and sunshine.

The far west Chinese region has been a pioneer in the country’s new
energy drive by turning its natural endowments into power for a greener
future. A mountainous district in its capital city Urumqi is known as
the cradle of China’s wind power industry.

Xinjiang generated some 84.45 billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy
power last year, a record high. About 32 percent of the electricity was
transmitted to 20 other Chinese provinces, regions and municipalities,
helping cut over 23 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Xinjiang’s new energy push is part of the country’s accelerating shift from fossil fuels to clean energy.

Official data showed that China’s installed capacity of renewable
energy power generation totaled 930 million kilowatts by the end of
2020, accounting for 42.4 percent of the country’s total.

Power generated by wind, sun and the like hit 2.2 trillion
kilowatt-hours last year, accounting for 29.5 percent of the country’s
total electricity consumption, up 9.5 percentage points from 2012.

Developing and facilitating clean energy is one important path for
China and the rest of the world to go carbon-neutral, said Liu Zhenya,
chairman of the Global Energy Interconnection Development and
Cooperation Organization.

China has promised to strictly control coal-fired power generation
projects and limit the increase in coal consumption over the 2021-2025
period and phase down coal consumption from 2026 to 2030.

The country’s carbon peak and neutrality goals mean a stronger
resolution and push for the shift to clean energy, offering new growth
opportunities for energy market players, said Wu Gang, chairman of
Xinjiang Goldwind Sci & Tech Co., Ltd., a leading wind power
equipment producer.

The Xinjiang-based company has built a pioneering carbon-neutral
industrial park in southeastern Beijing. With a smart network of wind
and solar energy devices, about half of the park’s electricity is
powered by clean energy.

On Jan. 28 this year, China Beijing Environmental Exchange issued the
country’s first renewable energy carbon neutrality certificate to the
Goldwind’s industrial park in Beijing.

China’s leading tech firms have become keen on empowering the green
energy campaign in China. IT giant Lenovo said it has supported several
energy firms’ operation upgrading to boost the wind turbine’s
utilization rate and power generation efficiency.

Going carbon-neutral is a shared goal and will bring new industrial
opportunities, said Lenovo’s chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing, adding that
technology and innovation hold the key to achieving the green target.
Enditem

About Xinhua Silk Road

Xinhua Silk Road (en.imsilkroad.com) is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) portal. China’s silk road economic belt and the 21st century maritime silk road website, include BRI Policy, BRI Trade, BRI Investment, Belt and Road weekly, Know Belt and Road, and the integrated information services for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Source: Xinhua Headlines: Solar, wind energy boom powers China’s carbon-neutral drive

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