New power facilities launched in Xinjiang to boost electricity transmission

URUMQI, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Construction of a new project consisting of power generation facilities commenced on Saturday in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which will facilitate the transmission of locally generated electricity to other parts of China.

Since 2010, the State Grid has constructed three power transmission channels in Xinjiang to deliver locally generated electricity to 20 provincial-level regions across the country.

Located in Ruoqiang County in the Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjiang, the new project is part of the fourth power transmission channel leading to Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality in southwest China.

The new project has a total planned installed capacity of approximately 19 million kilowatts, comprising 4 million kilowatts of wind power, 8.5 million kilowatts of photovoltaic power, 3.96 million kilowatts of efficient thermal power, and around 2.5 million kilowatts of energy storage.

Once the project is completed, over 60 percent of the electricity transmitted to Sichuan and Chongqing will be green electricity, generated from renewable sources.

As of the end of August this year, Xinjiang had transmitted a total of 826.1 billion kWh of locally generated electricity to other parts of the country, according to the State Grid's Xinjiang branch.

Xinjiang is rich in energy resources, including wind and solar power, and has significant power generation capacity. With power transmission channels built here, the region can transmit and sell surplus electricity to other parts of China. ■