China Energy's 3 Million Kilowatt Photovoltaic Base, located in Ordos, north China's Inner Mongolia, was successfully connected to the grid on Tuesday, marking the commencement of operation for China's largest solar power facility built on a coal mining subsidence zone.
With a total installed capacity of 3 million kilowatts, the project involved the installation of approximately 5.9 million photovoltaic panels, spanning over 70 million square meters, an area equivalent to 10,000 standard football fields.
This ambitious project has contributed to China's efforts to rehabilitate degraded land and is also a key part of the country's broader energy strategy, contributing to the west-to-east power transmission system that aims to transport electricity from the western regions to the eastern, industrialized parts of the country.
"The project generates 5.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to power 2 million households for a year. It saves 1.71 million tons of standard coal and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 4.7 million tons annually," said Dong Weidong, head of the China Energy Inner Mongolia Company.
Yang Yingxin, governor of Otog Front Banner, Inner Mongolia, expressed pride in the construction team's efficiency.
"The construction team completed the 20-month photovoltaic project in just 14 months, achieving full-capacity grid connection. The electricity generated is transmitted through a 1,238-kilometer transmission line, delivering clean energy to Linyi, Shandong. The Blue Ocean Photovoltaic Power Station has also become the largest single-grid-connected new energy project in Inner Mongolia," Yang said.
China starts operation of solar plant built on subsided coal mine
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.
Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.
Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.
"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.
The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.
Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar
