NW China's Tarim oilfield breaks record with annual solar power generation surpassing 2 billion kWh

This aerial photo taken on November 4, 2023 shows a major gas and oil processing station in the Fuman oilfield in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Fuman oilfield, China's largest ultra-deep oilfield, located in the Tarim Basin, boasts more than 1 billion tonnes of oil and gas resources, which are mainly detected underground at 7,500 meters to 10,000 meters deep. Photo: Xinhua

China's largest ultra-deep oil and gas production base, the Tarim oilfield, which is also the main gas source for China's west-to-east gas transmission project, has achieved an annual photovoltaic power generation exceeding 2 billion kilowatt-hours, with daily peak generation surpassing 10 million kilowatt-hours, China Central Television (CCTV) News reported on Sunday, citing data from PetroChina.

It marks the formation of the coordinated energy development of oil, gas and clean renewable energy in the heart of the Taklimakan Desert in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where the Tarim oilfield is located. It is also another significant advancement in the country's expanding adoption of clean energy, analysts said.

Within the Tarim oilfield, five large-scale solar power stations have been built, with a cumulative installed generation capacity of 2.6 gigawatts.

Also, full-scale construction of a 100-megawatt photovoltaic project in Xinjiang's Luntai county, located on the northern edge of the Taklimakan Desert, has recently commenced. Upon completion, it will generate 158 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity annually. It is expected that by the end of 2026, the project's installed solar generating capacity will exceed 4 gigawatts.

A total of 8 percent of the green electricity generated in Taklimakan is used for oil and gas production, and 92 percent is sent outward through electricity transmission lines in Xinjiang, which reduces the energy consumption and carbon emission intensity there by more than 10 percent.

Photovoltaic power generation in the Tarim oilfield has achieved "three leaps in three years" - from 260 million kilowatt-hours in 2023 to 1.34 billion kilowatt-hours in 2024 and 2 billion kilowatt-hours this year, Liang Yulei, a manager at PetroChina's Tarim Oilfield, was quoted as saying in the news report.

Located in the heart of the Taklimakan Desert, the Tarim oilfield boasts 239 distributed solar projects at individual oil and gas wells and field stations. The completed photovoltaic projects cover 100,000 mu (6,667 hectares) of yellow sand, achieving the coordinated advancement of green energy development and ecological protection, the report said.

"By constructing solar panels on shifting sands, we not only generate electricity through these panels but also reduce wind speeds, create shaded areas, and lay drip irrigation belts underneath - all of which facilitate sand control efforts," Lei Ting, an executive director at PetroChina's Tarim Oilfield, said.