In May 2026, the Tarim Desert Highway Zero Carbon Demonstration Project has accumulated over 15 million kilowatt hours of green electricity, with a daily stable power generation of over 11000 kilowatt hours, equivalent to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 14200 tons.

At present, the cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaics in China has exceeded 1000GW, and the construction of large-scale wind and photovoltaic bases in desert areas has been comprehensively accelerated. In this context, the transportation artery that runs through the Sea of Death in Taklamakan is using zero carbon as a pen to write a replicable green answer sheet.

522 kilometers through sand

The Tarim Desert Highway was fully completed in 1995, with a total length of 522 kilometers, making it the longest graded highway in the world that crosses a mobile desert. To resist wind and sand erosion, an ecological protection forest belt with a total length of 436 kilometers and a total area of over 3100 hectares has been built along the line, and 109 water source wells have been set up to provide drip irrigation water for sand vegetation. At present, the flowering period of the Haloxylon ammodendron forest is in full swing, and the maintenance and irrigation of the protective forest has entered the busiest period of the year. All 109 water well houses use photovoltaic green electricity to complete pumping operations, achieving zero carbon irrigation throughout the entire chain.

A clear ecological account

According to calculations, 15 million kilowatt hours of green electricity can replace over 4100 tons of diesel consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 14200 tons, equivalent to adding nearly 800000 carbon sequestration trees to the desert. At present, Tarim Oilfield has built five large-scale ground photovoltaic power stations and 239 distributed photovoltaic projects in the Tarim Basin, with a total installed capacity of 2.6 million kilowatts, which continues to inject green energy into the zero carbon highway. Keywords: Tarim Desert, Desert Highway

A road, a forest, and a photovoltaic power station. From its opening in 1995 to the breakthrough of 10 million kilowatt hours of green electricity in 2026, the Tarim Desert Highway has proven in thirty years that deserts are not only desolate, but also have light.Editor/Cheng Liting