Energy is the lifeblood of a nation’s economic circulation and a key driver of high-quality development. As the world’s largest energy producer and consumer, the transformation of China’s energy structure is a core force reshaping the economic framework and cultivating new growth points. The outline for the 15th Five-Year Plan proposes: accelerate the construction of a new energy system that is clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient, and build China into an energy powerhouse. In the inaugural year of the plan, we visited major energy bases across the country to observe the ongoing changes in the energy industry firsthand.

As special coal trains from Shendong Coal depart for distant destinations, a “Great Wall of Photovoltaics,” nearly 400 kilometers long and averaging about 5 kilometers wide, is under construction over 160 kilometers away on the northern edge of the Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia.

From Yulin in Shaanxi to Ordos in Inner Mongolia, from traditional fossil fuels to new energy sources like wind and solar power, from the northwestern Gobi Desert to the eastern coast, a diversified supply and network of energy channels ensures the energy consumption needs of over 1.4 billion people.

The inaugural year of the 15th Five-Year Plan sees a surge of activity in the energy sector. At the Energy Storage International Summit in Beijing, we met with an energy expert conducting research.

“Every Five-Year Plan prioritizes energy security. The defining features of the 15th Five-Year Plan are a shift towards ‘green’ and ‘smart’ energy. ‘Smart’ refers to leadership by artificial intelligence, while ‘green’ focuses on low-carbon development.”

From a binding 17% carbon reduction target to a supply security baseline of 5.8 billion tons of standard coal, and from laboratory technological breakthroughs to large-scale implementation, China’s energy sector is poised for comprehensive transformation and upgrading during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, moving towards a cleaner, low-carbon, safe, and efficient future.

In China, most wind and solar power capacity is located in the western regions, while electricity consumption is concentrated in the east. To resolve this imbalance, high-speed electricity transmission corridors are being built to achieve ultra-long-distance, ultra-high-capacity, and ultra-low-loss power transfer. The Mengxi–Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei ±800 kV ultra-high-voltage direct current transmission project under construction is one such “electricity superhighway.” Once operational, it will transmit over 36 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually to the load centers of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Inner Mongolia is a crucial national energy base. Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period, an increasingly dense network of “electricity superhighways” will deliver more of Inner Mongolia’s clean power to regions like Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, South China, and Central China.

The outline for the 15th Five-Year Plan proposes implementing a tenfold increase in non-fossil energy over a decade, balancing local consumption and external transmission. This means that in addition to building more “West-to-East Electricity Transmission” corridors, effective pathways for utilizing green electricity must be found in the future.

At a wind-solar-storage power station, each rotation of a wind turbine blade generates 12 kilowatt-hours of electricity. This green power is transmitted via a dedicated 41-kilometer line directly to a computing power center in the Hohhot Helinge’er New District. Inside an intelligent computing facility, 2,390 servers operate at high speed, supported by liquid cooling technology for real-time heat dissipation. When you edit photos on your phone in Beijing, utilize a large AI model, or play games, these servers may be contributing to the task.

“Currently, 95% of the computing power from the Hohhot Data Center Park is supplied to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, with a network latency of about 3 milliseconds. A blink of an eye is 300 milliseconds, meaning data can travel between Beijing and Hohhot ten times in the blink of an eye.”

Behind this stable and powerful computing capability lies electricity consumption levels that are hard for the average person to imagine.

“A single server rack consumes 40 kilowatts, which is 40 kilowatt-hours per hour. The annual electricity consumption is close to 300 million kilowatt-hours, costing about 100 million yuan.”

Thanks to Inner Mongolia’s abundant solar and wind resources, the comprehensive electricity price here is more than half that of regions like the Yangtze River Delta and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei. Where electric current meets servers, watts are continuously being converted into bits. It is this cost-effective computing power supply model that is attracting more and more technology companies.

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Shendong Coal

“Shendong Coal” refers to the Shendong Mining Area, the largest coalfield in China located in the Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia region. It was developed starting in the 1980s and has become a world-leading modern coal production base, known for its high efficiency and advanced mining technology. Its history is tied to China’s rapid industrial growth and energy strategy, transforming a remote area into a major economic hub.

Kubuqi Desert

The Kubuqi Desert is a large desert located in Inner Mongolia, China, and is notable as one of the country’s major sites for desertification control. Through extensive ecological projects since the late 20th century, large portions have been transformed into stabilized grasslands and forests. It now also serves as a model for sustainable desert tourism and solar energy development.

Yulin

Yulin is a city in China’s Shaanxi province, historically significant as a frontier garrison town along the Great Wall during the Ming Dynasty. It is best known for the nearby Yulin Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site containing a magnificent collection of Buddhist rock-cut art and statues dating from the 5th to the 12th centuries.

Ordos

Ordos is a prefecture-level city in Inner Mongolia, China, known for its vast mineral resources and modern urban development, including the once largely empty “Kangbashi New Area.” Historically, the region is part of the Ordos Plateau, a significant area within the traditional homeland of the Mongol people and a cradle of ancient nomadic cultures. The name itself is derived from the Mongol *Ordus*, meaning “palaces,” referencing the historic residence of the Mongol nobility, including the tombs of Genghis Khan, which are located in the region (though the exact location remains a matter of tradition and reverence).

Gobi Desert

The Gobi Desert is a vast, arid region spanning northern China and southern Mongolia, renowned for its extreme climate and dramatic landscapes of dunes and rocky plateaus. Historically, it was a significant part of the Silk Road network and is famed as the site of important paleontological discoveries, including the first dinosaur eggs. Its history is also deeply tied to the Mongol Empire, as it contained several key cities along ancient trade routes.

Beijing

Beijing is the capital of China and a major historical and cultural center, with a history spanning over 3,000 years. It served as the seat of imperial power during the Ming and Qing dynasties, famously housing the Forbidden City. Today, it is a modern global metropolis that preserves iconic ancient sites like the Great Wall and the Temple of Heaven.

Mengxi–Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei ±800 kV ultra-high-voltage direct current transmission project

The Mengxi–Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei ±800 kV ultra-high-voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission project is a major electricity infrastructure initiative in China, designed to transmit clean power from the resource-rich western regions (like Inner Mongolia) to the high-demand urban centers in the east. Completed and operational in recent years, it represents a key part of China’s strategy to optimize its national energy grid, reduce air pollution in the capital region, and support the integration of renewable energy sources over long distances.

Hohhot Helinge’er New District

Hohhot Helinge’er New District is a modern administrative and economic development zone located in Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Established as part of Hohhot’s urban expansion, it was created to drive regional growth and urbanization, though it does not have a long historical legacy like older parts of the city. Today, it functions as a hub for business, residential, and technological projects in the region.