The commencement ceremony for the new energy base takes place in Datong, Jan 5. [Photo/Datong Daily]

The construction on a new energy base, located at the northern Shanxi coal mining subsidence area in Datong city, commenced on Jan 5.

This new energy base is one of the 12 large-scale wind and photovoltaic power bases in China. These bases will contribute to realizing China's "dual carbon" goals: the peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030, and going carbon neutral before 2060. The Datong base spans across Xinrong and Yungang districts, as well as Zuoyun, Hunyuan, Lingqiu and Guangling counties. 

The Datong project involves the annual generation 6 million kilowatts of wind and photovoltaic energy, and will have a storage capacity of about 3.4 million kilowatt-hours. This project has a total investment of about 55 billion yuan ($7.7 billion). 

The project is expected to be completed and put into operation by the end of 2025. With support from the Datong-Tianjin South Transmission Channel, the base will be able to transmit 27 billion kWh of clean electricity to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region annually. It will serve as a model project for the development of Shanxi's new energy industry. Its unique feature is its integration of subsidence area treatment, ecological tourism, and rural vitalization.

As a typical resource-based city in the province, Datong is fully leveraging its energy advantages to create the largest comprehensive and green energy base in North China.