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Continuing to follow through on commitments to be a world leader in fighting climate change, a Chinese province is operating entirely on zero-emission, clean energy for a seven-day experimental trial this week, officials said.
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China's Qinghai province will break the previous record held by Portugal, which ran for four days straight on renewable energy in May 2016.
The resource-wealthy province which is home to over 5.8 million people, is running on a combination of hydropower, wind, and solar power between June 17 to June 23.
“This is the first time in China that a province runs solely on renewable energy for a long period of time. We believe it will raise awareness on cutting emissions and promote the development of clean energy nationwide,” Han Ti, vice manager of the provincial grid company said.
The province has a plan to expand its solar and wind capacity to 35 million kilowatts by the year 2020.
Qinghai plans to continue developing and using its unique geographical position, at the source of two major rivers, and ample solar energy, to eventually become a major hub of green energy production for neighboring regions of China.
Following the United States' decision earlier this month to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, Chinese leadership has stressed their government's intentions to be a world leader in developing clean energy, as well as in pushing forward international negotiations to cap greenhouse gas emissions.
Their investments reflect their rhetoric, with China now being the largest investor in renewable energy in the world, and also the world's largest producer of solar energy.
China has also actively curtailed fossil fuel consumption, with the construction of over 100 coal-fired power plants being halted earlier this year.
Although China is currently the largest net-producer of greenhouse gasses, the United States is the largest per-capita polluter.
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