Posted on 06 Nov 2024
China plans to establish a large renewable energy base in the south of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, project leader state-owned China Three Gorges Renewables Group Co., Ltd. (CTGR) announced on October 30.
The energy project, to be located in the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin, is designed to have a total power generation capacity of 12.5 million kilowatts (kW), comprising 8.5 million kW from solar panels and 4 million kW from wind turbines, according to the announcement. Meanwhile, the base will be supported by six 660,000-kW coal-based units and a battery storage facility capable of holding 5 million kilowatt-hours.
With a total investment of about Yuan 71.8 billion ($10.1 billion), the project is being funded by a joint venture owned by the CTGR and three other state-owned companies, according to the document.
Construction is expected to take three or four years, it said, though the target commissioning date was not disclosed. As of now, the coal component of the project has received government approval, and the renewable part has secured construction quotas, with all procedural matters in progress, according to the announcement.
Upon completion, the base will transmit about 36 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power to Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality, both leading economic hubs in southwest China.
According to the project's feasibility study, more than 50% of the power the base will supply to these regions will be generated from solar and wind facilities, which are expected to maintain capacity utilization rates of no less than 90%.
Sparsely populated Xinjiang, rich in solar and wind resources, has emerged as a crucial hub for large-scale renewable energy bases that supply power over long distances to other parts of the country. By the end of July, the region's renewable energy installations had surpassed the 80 million kW threshold, capable of producing 130 billion kWh of power annually, as reported by Chinanews.com.
In addition to its renewable energy potential, Xinjiang is also abundant in coal, with an estimated coal resource volume of 2.19 trillion tonnes, accounting for nearly 40% of the country's total, according to the Xinjiang Coal Exchange Center.
Strategically located near the four largest coalfields in Xinjiang, the project is positioned to transform coal into power with significant cost efficiency, supporting the base with a stable and cheap supplementary supply, Mysteel Global noted.
According to a statement jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic regulator, and the National Energy Administration (NEA) at the end of May 2022, the country aimed to increase its total installed capacity of wind and solar power to over 1.2 billion kW by 2030.
As of the end of July 2024, China's installed capacity for wind and solar power reached 1.206 billion kW, exceeding the target by more than six years, said the NEA.
Source:Mysteel Global
