Xinjiang rises as China’s prime energy hub after years of focused energy investments and relevant infrastructure development in the region.
Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has evolved into a vital hub for national energy production and domestic electricity supply, possessing China’s largest coal and solar reserves along with the second-highest wind energy potential.
Under the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025), Xinjiang was designated a key national base for wind and solar energy, fossil fuel reserves, and a major corridor for power transmission to other parts of the country.
By the end of 2024, the region had transmitted over 860 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to other provinces, equivalent to 260 million metric tons of coal, significantly reducing carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide emissions in those regions.
This transformation comes at a critical time when coastal provinces are facing growing electricity shortages, limited land availability, and strict environmental constraints that hinder coal power expansion.
At the same time, the rise of artificial intelligence has sharply increased electricity demand due to the energy-intensive nature of data centers supporting machine learning and large language models.
Xinjiang’s emergence as a power supplier is the result of years of focused energy investments, infrastructure development, and the dedicated efforts of workers in the sector.
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