Qinghai-Tibet Plateau promotes low-carbon power supply

China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is tapping its ample solar, wind and hydropower resources for low-carbon electricity generation.

According to statistics released by Qinghai Province, during the first three quarters of this year, it generated 6.039 billion kilowatt-hour (kWh)of power through new energy, mainly PV and wind, accounting for 13.8 percent of the total power generation, compared to 10.4 percent last year.

By the end of September, the province had over 5.15 million kilowatts(kW) of installed new energy power capacity, including 4.78 million kW of solar power, 368,000 kW of wind power and 3,500 kW of biomass energy.

Qinghai is seen as an ideal place to develop new energy power supply. Beside its rich solar and wind resources, the area has some 100,000 square kilometers of desertified land that can be used to build PV and wind power supply facilities.

Meanwhile, since June, neighboring Tibet Autonomous Region began sending its surplus hydropower to Qinghai, and about 328.5 million kWh of hydropower has been transferred as of Friday. This is equivalent to burning 40,000 tonnes of standard coal and, thus, has reduced carbon emissions by 100,500 tonnes, according to the State Grid's Qinghai Electricity Power Company.

Tibet holds nearly 30 percent of China's total hydropower resources. During the past few years, the region has been investing in upgrading its power grid and constructing hydropower stations.