Powering to a cleaner and greener future

During the nine-day trial last year, total electricity consumption was 1.76 billion kWhs, which cut carbon dioxide emissions by 1.44 million tons.

The daily electricity generated from solar and wind energy sources during the 15-day period reached 78 million kWhs, an increase of 47 percent from the 9-day trial.

Around 2 percent of the power generated during the period was from coal-fired plants-the minimal amount required to stabilize the grid in case of fluctuations and to avoid damaging electrical infrastructure.

Qi Taiyuan, general manager of State Grid Qinghai Electric, said during the 15-day period, besides fulfilling Qinghai's electricity needs, it also supplied 1.068 billion kWhs to other provinces and cities including Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi and Shanghai.

Qi said that clean energy consumption involves many aspects, including the power source, power grid, users and technological research and development.

The 15-day trial was the culmination of building a clean low-carbon, modern energy system, which is safe and efficient.

Li Qing, deputy president of the Qinghai Federation of Industry and Commerce, thinks the advantage of developing clean energy in Qinghai is that more than 86 percent of the province's power sources are clean electricity.

The power grid also has the capacity to gather clean electricity from Gansu province and the Tibet and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions and transfer it to other provinces.

The province is also conducting experiments on other alternative energy sources, Li said.

Qinghai started developing its new energy industry in 2009, with the aim of taking advantage of its abundant solar power resources.

Delingha has more than 3,500 hours of sunlight every year. It is becoming a solar-thermal capital with many solar farms being built. A new 50-megawatt solar-thermal project is under construction in Delingha Industrial Park.

According to Li Gang, manager of the project, it can generate 0.2 billion kWs each year, which saves 60,000 tons of coal and cuts emissions of 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide.

In Gonghe county, the Longyangxia hydropower station is located next to a photovoltaic power plant. It's the world's largest integration of solar and hydro power generation.