Photovoltaic (PV) panels are arranged at a PV technology base on a barren mountain in Ruicheng county, North China's Shanxi Province on November 13, 2022. Ruicheng has stepped up efforts to develop PV power generation in recent years, delivering green energy to households. Photo: VCG

Construction of a photovoltaic (PV) facility that will make monocrystalline silicon wafers with annual output of 100 gigawatts (GW) and monocrystalline cells with annual output of 50 GW started on Thursday in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, a further step to achieve the national double carbon goals and pursue green development. 

Total investment is projected at about 45.2 billion yuan ($6.32 billion), and the facility will cover 205.4 hectares. It will be the world's largest PV manufacturing base with the highest production capacity and most advanced technology.

The annual production capacity of 50GW can realize annual power generation of about 133 billion kilowatt hours, which can eliminate the use of 48 million tons of standard coal and 103 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to an increase of 281,333 hectares of afforestation.

The facility will employ 15,000 people.

The base will contribute to the accelerated achievement of China's double carbon goals, experts said.

China has been ramping up work on renewable energy this year. The Global Times learned from the project's co-developer PowerChina's Chengdu Engineering Co in May that Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region started the construction of a PV power station with a designed capacity of about 1,800 megawatts.

The project's annual power generation will reach about 5.4 billion kilowatt-hours, which can save about 1.67 million tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3.74 million tons.

Data from National Energy Administration showed that China's total wind and PV capacity reached 820 million kilowatts by the end of April, which accounted for 30.9 percent of national power generation capacity. 

The figures show the country is making progress in its energy structure optimization for achieving carbon emission reduction goals.

China generated 482.8 billion kilowatt-hours of wind and PV power from January to April, up 26.8 percent year-on-year, and this accounted for 17.2 percent of social electricity consumption, up three percentage points from a year earlier.