Clean energy now makes up nearly 90 percent of the installed power generation capacity in the region, as stated in the white paper titled "CPC Policies on the Governance of Xizang in the New Era: Approach and Achievements."
By October, the region had delivered a cumulative of over 7 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean electricity from 2021, outpacing its three-year (2021-2023) target of transmitting 6.1 billion kWh of electricity ahead of time, according to the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid).
It is estimated that by the end of this year, the number will reach 7.1 billion kWh, equivalent to reducing standard coal by 2.18 million tonnes and carbon dioxide emissions by 5.43 million tonnes, said the State Grid.
The transmission of electricity will create economic benefits of about 1.95 billion yuan (roughly $267 million), and benefit over 70 power generation enterprises in the region, thus transforming Xizang's energy resources into economic advantages, it added.
On Thursday, a new round of three-year framework agreements were signed between Xizang and another 17 provincial-level power grids including Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan and Gansu, which coordinates the region's clean energy delivery and power purchase needs from 2024 to 2026.
The three-year power transaction agreements will expand Xizang's clean electricity delivery during flood season and ensure its power supply during the dry season, Chang Qing, deputy chief manager of Beijing Power Exchange Center, told China Media Group.
It is expected to save 2.24 million tonnes of standard coal and 5.59 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emission, while meeting the average annual growth demand of 12.7 percent of electricity consumption in Xizang in the next three years, said Chang.
Clean energy projects erected
Xizang is endowed with unique clean energy resources. Its water, solar, wind and geothermal energy resources, rank top in the country, with the development of solar energy alone reaching over 9.8 billion kilowatts, Yan Jinhai, head of the regional government, said at a press conference on Friday.
"Xizang will be an important base for China's clean energy in the future," said Yan.
The region harbors the country's highest-altitude wind farm.
The ultra-high wind farm, with its turbines installed at altitudes ranging from 5,000 to 5,200 meters above sea level in Zhegu Town, Comai County, was connected to the power grid at full capacity in October.
It will generate over 200 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, meeting the electricity consumption needs of some 140,000 households every year.
Last November, a 1.2-million-kilowatt hydropower project started operation on the border of Xizang and Sichuan Province, the first hydropower station at the upper reaches of the Jinsha River.
The construction of the Suwalong Hydropower Station in November 2015, and its full operation marks a landmark progress in building a clean energy base on the upper reaches of the Jinsha River.
The station can generate about 5.5 billion kWh of electricity per year, saving 1.8 million tonnes of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 4.3 million tonnes.
The region's largest photovoltaic (PV) power generation project, located in the city of Nagqu, started operation last December.
The 120,000-kW PV power generation project can generate 247 million kWh of electricity annually, saving 76,300 tonnes of standard coal and reducing 219,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions yearly.
Such projects are epitomes of Xizang's clean energy endeavor.
The region, which has achieved overall carbon neutrality, is now advancing along a three-step strategy in developing its clean energy industry, to initially build it into a national clean energy base by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), and ultimately a world-class one by the middle of this century.