The Dashixia Water Control Project in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has recently completed the installation of major components for all three power-generating units and the construction of its power transmission system.

Located on the Kumarak River in Aksu prefecture, the project features the world's tallest concrete-faced sand-gravel dam, rising 247 meters high, equivalent to an 80-story building.

According to the construction team, the 750,000-kilowatt project is scheduled to reach full impoundment by the end of May, with its first unit set to be commissioned in late June. All three units are expected to become operational in August, generating nearly 1.9 billion kilowatt-hours annually — enough to power 650,000 households.

Chen Wendeng, a project leader at China Gezhouba Group No 3 Engineering Co, which is in charge of construction, said that in addition to its water conservancy and ecological benefits, Dashixia's power generation will save about 764,000 metric tons of standard coal and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 2.45 million tons annually. It will also ease demand pressure in southern Xinjiang during summer and autumn and help smooth fluctuations from wind and solar power.

The Dashixia project epitomizes Xinjiang's energy transition and sets a promising tone for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30).

At a news conference in Urumqi on Saturday, regional leaders outlined Xinjiang's goal of leveraging its rich energy resources to support national energy security while boosting new energy and green power over the next five years.

Erkin Tuniyaz, chairman of the region, said Xinjiang will tap the potential of oil, gas, minerals, coal and new energy resources to foster large-scale industrial clusters, while using green electricity to accelerate industrial upgrading, develop emerging sectors such as computing power, and promote the integration of artificial intelligence with various industries.

Zhang Yingchun, the region's executive vice-chairwoman, said that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Xinjiang will accelerate construction of a new energy-based power system, promote local consumption of green electricity and speed up the building of outbound power transmission channels.

Official data shows that Xinjiang's installed new energy capacity surpassed 170 million kW in February, accounting for more than 60 percent of the region's total installed capacity. One-third of Xinjiang's outbound electricity, transmitted to 22 provincial-level regions, is green power.

Zhang said greater emphasis will be placed on advanced equipment manufacturing — including power transmission and transformation equipment and energy storage equipment — as well as green hydrogen.

Regarding green hydrogen, Xinjiang will pursue breakthroughs in production, storage, transportation and application technologies, build a full hydrogen energy industrial ecosystem and promote integrated development of green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol, she said.

A green hydrogen project in Yiwu county, Hami, has recently been added to Xinjiang's approved list of local new energy consumption projects. The project plans to install 690,000 kW of new energy capacity along with supporting energy storage facilities.

Using a wind-solar hybrid off-grid model, the project will rely entirely on self-generated green electricity for hydrogen production without connecting to the public power grid. It marks Xinjiang's first off-grid project directly linking green power generation with end users. Once completed, the project is expected to produce about 30,000 tons of green hydrogen annually while consuming approximately 1.65 billion kWh of green electricity each year.

A Xinjiang Daily report quoted the regional development and reform commission as saying that the project will effectively address difficulties involving grid connection and renewable energy consumption in remote areas.

Contact the writers at fangaiqing@chinadaily.com.cn