Century-old Coal City Transforms: Jixi Plays the Ode to Green Transition

As a "coal city" with a century of coal mining history, Jixi has always firmly established and practiced the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets". While upholding the bottom line of energy security, it has steadily advanced green and low-carbon transition, forging a distinctive path for the high-quality development of traditional resource-based cities.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Jixi achieved remarkable results in the transformation and upgrading of its coal industry. The overall plan for coal mining areas and a 1.5 million-ton cooperative coal mine were approved smoothly, with coal production capacity stabilized above 20 million tons per year, providing solid support for regional energy security. Meanwhile, intelligent transformation accelerated, with 1 national pilot intelligent demonstration mine and 6 provincial-level intelligent coal mines built, revitalizing the traditional coal mining industry.

On the basis of consolidating the advantages of traditional industries, Jixi has actively laid out emerging industries. The clean energy industry has developed rapidly, with installed capacity increasing by 105% compared with the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan. Key projects such as new energy equipment manufacturing and digital energy storage batteries have been completed and put into operation, while emerging and future industry projects like green hydrogen-methanol-aviation fuel chemical co-production are being accelerated, injecting new vitality into urban transformation and shifting the industrial structure from "single dependence" to "diversified support".

Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Jixi will continue to thoroughly implement the new energy security strategy and promote in-depth integration of energy technological innovation and industrial innovation. It will accelerate the construction of innovation platforms such as technology centers for clean and efficient coal utilization and intelligent mining, strengthen the innovation of key technological equipment, and continuously improve the modernization level of the industrial chain.

For the upgrading of the coal industry, Jixi will promote the upgrading, transformation and modern intelligent construction of coal mines, expand the coal chemical industry chain, actively advance projects such as comprehensive coalbed methane development and coal-based solid waste circular economy, and promote the coal industry to leap from low-end to high-end and coal products from primary fuels to high-value products, realizing the efficient utilization and value enhancement of "black gold".

The clean energy industry will become an important growth engine for Jixi's transformation and development. Seizing the opportunity of Heilongjiang Province's layout and construction of a new energy industrial cluster in the eastern region, Jixi will accelerate the construction of approved wind power projects, centralized photovoltaic power generation, pumped storage power stations, independent energy storage power stations and other projects, implement green power direct connection pilot projects, and extend the industrial chain of green hydrogen production to green methanol and then to green aviation fuel.

According to the plan, Jixi strives that by 2030, the installed capacity of clean energy will increase by 260% compared with the current level, accounting for more than 60% of the total installed capacity. It will fully build a safe and efficient clean energy production base, enabling the century-old coal city to take steady steps on the road of green transition and provide reference experience for the transformation and development of resource-based cities.