The vitality of Xinjiang's new energy industry is bursting forth

From the vast Gobi of the Junggar Basin to the edge of the Taklamakan Desert, row after row of massive wind turbine blades turn into the wind, while sheet after sheet of deep-blue photovoltaic panels track the sun and chase the daylight… By the end of 2025, Xinjiang’s new energy installed capacity exceeded 160 million kW, accounting for 64% of total power generation installed capacity.

Let the wind rise over the Gobi, and let light shine over the Tianshan. In recent years, Xinjiang has closely aligned with the strategic positioning of “a national energy resource strategic security support base,” focusing on what the state needs, what Xinjiang can provide, and what the people hope for. Looking to strengthen national energy security and serve the broader goal of nationwide green and low-carbon development, Xinjiang has worked with full effort to promote high-quality development of new energy, accelerating the development of the new era “three bases and one corridor” for the country and large-scale clean energy bases, with energy security assurance capabilities improving markedly.

A green journey for the energy map

Driving along the edge of the Taklamakan Desert in the jurisdiction of Ruoqiang County of Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, amid the vast sea of sand, one deep-blue photovoltaic array after another stretches across the horizon like waves. This is a 4-million-kW photovoltaic project site.

“Our project is not only an energy base, but also a test ground for the integration of ecology and technology,” said Guo Xiaoyang, the person in charge of the project, pointing to the “photovoltaic ocean” covering about 76 square kilometers. The project achieved full-capacity transfer to commercial operation on May 29, 2025. Its designed annual power generation exceeds 6.9 billion kWh, which can meet the annual electricity needs of 2 million households. The construction of the project not only supports employment for more than 10,000 people, but also explores an ecological model of “power generation on the panels, restoration underneath the panels,” bringing new life to the Gobi.

With the focus shifting northward, in the north side of the Salt Lake Service Area of the Lianhuo Expressway, more than a hundred “wind-power giants” stand tall facing the wind. This is Xinjiang’s first “wind-solar-thermal-storage” multi-energy complementary clean energy base—the Huadian Beijiang Urumqi million-kW wind-solar base.

“Since the 14th Five-Year Plan period, we have proactively served national strategies. Centering on the positioning of the Huadian Xinjiang strategic clean energy base, we have accelerated green and low-carbon development. We have built and put into operation the Gobi energy base along the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang, and large-scale ‘Shagehuang’ wind and photovoltaic bases in the country’s third batch, among other projects. The foundation for high-quality development is firmer, the underlying tone is greener, the value is higher, and the driving momentum is stronger,” said Wu Di, deputy chief economist of Huadian Xinjiang Power Generation Co., Ltd.

“Currently, our company’s installed capacity in Xinjiang reaches 41.278 million kW, of which the share of installed clean energy is nearly 60%.”

In recent years, Xinjiang has upheld overall planning and coordinated development. It has established an energy leadership group for the autonomous region and developed and implemented a plan for building a new-type power system for the autonomous region, promoting integrated interaction among “sources, grids, loads, storage, carbon, and data.”

According to data from State Grid Xinjiang Electric Power Co., Ltd., by the end of 2025, Xinjiang’s new energy installed capacity surpassed 160 million kW, making it the largest power source in Xinjiang and the main contributor to incremental electricity generation. In 2025, Xinjiang’s new energy power generation reached 146.7 billion kWh, up 22.3% year-on-year—equivalent to cutting 119 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

“This set of figures indicates that Xinjiang’s energy structure has undergone fundamental change,” said Yang Guixing, head of the main grid planning section in the Development and Planning Department of State Grid Xinjiang Electric Power Co., Ltd. With the commissioning of a batch of demonstration projects such as the green, intelligent, self-healing intelligent microgrids in Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang has basically formed a green energy supply system characterized by multi-energy complementarity and regional coordination.

Strengthening the foundations to promote the utilization of green electricity

Generating well is not enough—we must also be able to send it out and use it. Faced with the volatility challenge of new energy that “depends on the weather,” Xinjiang has stuck to diversified utilization, making two-way efforts in both “internal absorption and external delivery” and “flexible regulation and storage.”

On the construction of the major “Xinjiang electricity exported out” arterial trunk lines, Xinjiang has been running at full speed. Currently, the first, second, and third ultra-high-voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission corridors for “Xinjiang electricity export,” as well as two 750-kV cross-provincial (regional) alternating-current corridors, are operating efficiently.

“Xinjiang has formed the external delivery corridor layout of ‘two ACs and three DCs,’ with an export capacity exceeding 30 million kW,” said Song Xieqiang, director of the Trading Department at the Xinjiang Power Trading Center Co., Ltd. In 2025, the electricity volume for “Xinjiang electricity export” exceeded 141 billion kWh. Of that, the share of electricity exported from new energy exceeded one third. Green electricity is being delivered steadily to 22 provinces (autonomous regions/municipalities) across the country, making an important contribution to ensuring national energy security and advancing the energy transition.

Xinjiang is also accelerating the construction of the fourth “Xinjiang electricity export” power source base and the 750-kV power transmission and transformation project of Ruoqiang to Huatugou in Qinghai, and is working hard to get the approval for the ±800-kV Ruoqiang–Sichuan-Chongqing UHVDC project. Xinjiang aims to form a “three ACs and four DCs” pattern by 2027.

At the same time, Xinjiang is accelerating the construction of a new-type power system. Huadian Xinjiang Power Generation Co., Ltd. is promoting the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation. It is advancing grid-forming storage solutions such as all-vanadium liquid flow, compressed carbon dioxide, and flywheel energy storage, and has demonstrated the completion of two large independent energy storage power stations in Urumqi and Kashgar.

Today, the “stabilizer” role of 31 energy storage power stations with a total capacity of 4.24 million kW / 15.65 million kWh continues to show its effect. By 2025, Xinjiang’s installed capacity of new-type energy storage in the power grid reached 20.1504 million kW / 70.5376 million kWh.

Meanwhile, according to Gao Bo, deputy general manager of the Xinjiang Power Trading Center Co., Ltd., Xinjiang has now formed an electricity medium- and long-term market trading mechanism covering all entities, all product types, and all time periods. As the mechanism continues to improve, it will guide more Xinjiang power into the market and better help convert local resource advantages.

Industrial ecosystem cluster takes shape

The booming development of Xinjiang’s new energy industry depends on the “soft environment” support from the institutional and policy framework, as well as “hard support” from technology and manufacturing.

In terms of policy supply, in 2024 Xinjiang delegated the filing and approval authority for wind and photovoltaic projects to prefectures/cities (regions/municipalities), realizing “one network for online handling.” In 2025, Xinjiang issued the “Notice on Improving the Resilience of New Energy Development and Accelerating the Construction of a New-Type Power System.” From multiple dimensions such as improving industrial policies, stabilizing market expectations, and optimizing the business environment, it proposed six areas and 21 specific policy measures, injecting fresh momentum into the development of the new energy industry.

Technology and equipment manufacturing are important support for the thriving new energy industry. In the production workshop of Xinjiang Dongfang Wind Power New Energy Co., Ltd., located in Mulei Kazakh Autonomous County, large-scale machinery operates at full throttle and at high speed. In the wind power main unit assembly area, technical backbones are leading their teams to carry out key work connecting the generator and the transmission chain.

At present, the local new energy equipment manufacturing industry has formed an industrial chain covering more than 10 product types, including wind turbine main units, blades, tower sections, photovoltaic modules, inverters, combiner boxes, and energy storage batteries. The products not only supply local projects, but also sell far beyond to the whole country.

Wang Jun, a Standing Committee member of the CPC Mulei County Committee and the executive vice county magistrate, said: “During the 15th and 5th Five-Year Plan period, we will continue to seek breakthroughs in equipment manufacturing, the utilization of green electricity, and direct-supply applications, and build a green industrial cluster. Let infinite ‘wind and solar’ become enduring driving momentum for high-quality development, truly achieving strong-county governance and prosperity for the people.”

A reporter learned from the Department of Industry and Information Technology of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region that Xinjiang has built a relatively complete wind power equipment manufacturing industrial chain, and the output of wind turbine units ranks among the top in the country. At the same time, Xinjiang’s industrial silicon and polycrystalline silicon output continue to rank among the top in the country.

Song Xieqiang said that new energy has laid a “green foundation” for Xinjiang’s economic development, unleashing tremendous momentum for “green” development. It not only strongly promotes Xinjiang’s green and low-carbon transition and high-quality development, but also effectively helps the local area better benefit the people and rally their support.