Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Yu Jiangyan, Correspondent Wang Chengkai) news: On May 31, 2023, as the largest centralized photovoltaic power plant in the Taklimakan Desert hinterland, the 100,000 kilowatts of photovoltaic power generation project in Qiemo oilfield area of Tarim Oilfield officially has started grid-connected power generation, and the plant will supply 210 million kilowatt hours of green electricity to the local area each year.

As one of the the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region power supply guarantee project, the 100,000 kilowatts of photovoltaic power generation project in Qiemo oilfield area of Tarim Oilfield covers a total area of 3,916 mu, consisting of 32 photovoltaic arrays, and is equipped with 10 megawatts of energy storage devices and a 110 kilovolt booster station. According to the estimation, the annual power transmission of the project can meet the electricity demand of nearly 250,000 residents for a whole year, which is equivalent to 25,000 tons of standard coal usage, 140,000 tons of carbon dioxide emission reduction.

Since May 31, 2023, the 100,000 kilowatts of photovoltaic power generation project in Qiemo oilfield area of Tarim Oilfield has started grid-connected power generation. (Photo by Li Jinfeng)

“The project is located in the hinterland of the desert, in order to slow down the flow of sand dunes, we made straw checkerboard barriers and effectively fixed 4,000 mu of sand.” Wang Feng, deputy manager of Tarim Oilfield's new energy division, said this kind of construction model, the photovoltaic panels can be used for green power generation, and the part under the panels can also help fix the sand dunes. This is of great significance to the study on the sand fixation patterns to control sand flow.

In recent years, Tarim Oilfield has complied with the strategic requirement of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), adhered to the synergistic development of oil and gas and new energy business, and greater efforts will be made to explore and develop petroleum and natural gas, discover more untapped reserves, and increase production. While focusing on energy saving, carbon reduction and green development, the Tarim Oilfield is also focusing on the construction of new energy bases in the desert and Gobi, making every effort to establish a new supply and demand pattern that promotes clean, low-carbon, and high-efficiency energy use, as well as synthetic utilization of multiple energies.

Since May 31, 2023, the largest centralized photovoltaic power plant in the Taklimakan Desert hinterland has started grid-connected power generation. (Photo by Li Jinfeng)

By June 2022, 86 new photovoltaic power stations were built on the Tarim Desert Highway, making it the first zero-carbon desert highway in China. In November 2022, a 3.6 MW single photovoltaic power station was put into operation at the Hetianhe gas field, providing a reliable power guarantee for oil and gas production. This year, Tarim Oilfield's first centralized external photovoltaic power station - Yuli 100,000 kW photovoltaic project started grid-connected power generation, and Lunan 6 MW photovoltaic power station successfully started grid-connected power generation. The Taklimakan Desert, known as the "Sea of Death", is becoming "a land of green power" step by step.

Tarim Oilfield continues to enhance its clean energy development and utilization capacity by making full use of resources such as the basin, desert, Gobi land and rich wind and sunlight resources, and is accelerating the construction of a number of projects such as 1.1 million kilowatts of photovoltaic power generation in the Kashgar prefecture. It is expected that by the end of this year, the annual photovoltaic power generation capacity of Tarim Oilfield will reach to 2.4 billion kilowatt hours.

Photo taken on February 21, 2023 shows the solar panels of the 100,000 kilowatt photovoltaic power generation project shine in Qiemo County, northwest China's Xinjiang. (Photo by Chen Shibing)

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