China Energy Investment Corporation (CEIC) has started construction on the 2 GW second phase of its renewable energy desert power base project, located in Ningxia’s Tengger Desert in northern China. This second phase is expected to provide approximately 3.96 TWh/year of clean electricity, allowing a reduction of CO2 emissions estimated at 3.29 Mt/year and a reduction of coal use of about 1.2 Mt/year.
The first phase of the project, with an installed capacity of 1 GW, was connected to the grid in April 2023 and started generating power in July 2023. Once completed, the project will total 17 GW of wind and solar capacity. The project in Ningxia is part of China’s desert energy project, first launched at the end of 2021, which comprises the development of a total of 100 GW of solar and wind capacity across the desert regions of the country, spanning 19 provinces. In March 2022 China raised its target to 450 GW of solar and wind capacity on the Gobi Desert and other desert regions by 2030.
In 2022, China’s installed capacity for renewables surpassed 1,100 GW (with 413 GW for hydro, 365 GW for wind and 393 GW for solar) and power production from renewables exceeded 2,500 TWh. China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) expects the country to reach 1,200 GW of solar capacity by 2030.
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