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Three Gorges Co's Southern Xinjiang Taklimakan Desert New Energy Base supporting coal power project

Coal power plant in Xinjiang, China. Approximate location 38.970919, 88.529128.

CoalXinjiangChinaultra-supercriticalConstruction

Three Gorges Co's Southern Xinjiang Taklimakan Desert New Energy Base supporting coal power project is a 3,960 MW coal power station in Xinjiang, China. It is operated by Three Gorges Bazhou Ruoqiang Energy Co Ltd. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 5.0 million homes (estimated). It ranks #114 of 6,685 China power plants by installed capacity. In context, coal supplies about 54.3% of China's electricity; the national grid averages 525 gCO₂/kWh (41.7% low-carbon) (2025).

3,960MW installed capacity
4,955,657homes powered (est.)
2027Construction

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GEM_coa_threegorgesssouthern_china.

Data status

Known data

FacilityThree Gorges Co's Southern Xinjiang Taklimakan Desert New Energy Base supporting coal power project GEM-coal
CountryChina · Xinjiang GEM-coal
Coordinates38.970919, 88.529128 GEM-coal
FuelCoal GEM-coal
MW installed capacity3,960 MW GEM GCPT; source record
OwnerThree Gorges Bazhou Ruoqiang Energy Co Ltd GEM-coal
Commissioned2027 GEM-coal
Technologyultra-supercritical GEM-coal

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions17,344,800 t CO₂·a⁻¹ calculated
Capacity rank in country#114 / 6685 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#50 / 1907 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers5.66× · 700 MW · n=1907 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent4,955,657 calculated
Environmental severityC1 · 42/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Data provenance

The capacity and fuel fields on this page are source-record values from the upstream open dataset. They are useful for identification and ranking, but they have not been upgraded to a 2026 registry/GEM-location verified value.

capacity: GEM GCPT; fuel: GEM GCPT

In context: how this plant compares

At 3,960 MW, Three Gorges Co's Southern Xinjiang Taklimakan Desert New Energy Base supporting coal power project is well above the median coal plant in China (700 MW). Technically it is described as ultra-supercritical. Its current lifecycle status is “Construction” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. Coal plants burn pulverised coal to raise high-pressure steam for a turbine; they run as baseload but are the most carbon-intensive mainstream source and the first targeted for retirement or efficiency retrofits.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Capacity vs largest coal plants in China

East Hope Metals Wucaiwan power station: 7,000 MW7kEast Hope …Datang Tuoketuo power station: 6,720 MW7kDatang Tuo…Togtoh power station: 6,720 MW7kTogtoh pow…Ying Long Shan power station: 6,300 MW6kYing Long …Jiaxing power station: 6,030 MW6kJiaxing po…Guazhou Changle power station: 6,000 MW6kGuazhou Ch…Guodian Yulin Jingbian power station: 6,000 MW6kGuodian Yu…Guoxin Dafeng power station: 6,000 MW6kGuoxin Daf…

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Three Gorges Bazhou Ruoqiang Energy Co Ltd.

Climate zone & how it works

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 39.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

~11°Ctypical annual mean
~26°Ctypical warm-season mean
Cold desert: four distinct seasons — cold winters and warm summers

Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
42/100environmental-severity index
33.1°Cseasonal temperature swing
9999 kmdistance to coast

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #50 largest coal power plant of 1907 in China by capacity.

China has 1907 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 1,882,493 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 38.970919, 88.529128 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Three Gorges Co's Southern Xinjiang Taklimakan Desert New Energy Base supporting coal power project?

Three Gorges Co's Southern Xinjiang Taklimakan Desert New Energy Base supporting coal power project is a 3,960 MW coal power plant in Xinjiang, China, Construction 2027.

How many homes can Three Gorges Co's Southern Xinjiang Taklimakan Desert New Energy Base supporting coal power project power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 4,955,657 homes (estimated).

Who operates Three Gorges Co's Southern Xinjiang Taklimakan Desert New Energy Base supporting coal power project?

Three Gorges Co's Southern Xinjiang Taklimakan Desert New Energy Base supporting coal power project is operated by Three Gorges Bazhou Ruoqiang Energy Co Ltd.

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