For the first time, residents of Weizhou Island in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region can enjoy green electricity as a photovoltaic (PV) power station was officially put into operation on Saturday.

Weizhou Island was formed by volcanic eruptions. It is the largest and youngest volcanic island in China and has an enchanting landscape. The oil field on the island has been supplying electricity to its residents since 1998, ending the history of no electricity on the island.

With the rapid development of tourism on Weizhou Island and the expansion of the oil fields, the demand for electricity is also increasing. Weizhou Island's current population is 25,000 and growing. The PV power station serves as a green solution to meet the power need while protecting the environment. 

The project, launched last December, covers about 36,000 square meters with more than 8,000 solar panels installed. It can provide 5.17 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean power to island residents every year.

Compared with electricity generated by natural gas on the same scale, the PV power station could save 1.72 million cubic meters of natural gas every year and cut carbon emissions by 85,000 tonnes during the operation period.

"CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation) will build the Weizhou oil field cluster into China's first integrated energy demonstration offshore oil field that combines wind and solar storage and achieve a new power supply mode integrating an offshore wind farm, PV technology, energy storage and shore power by 2025," said Tang Guangrong, deputy general manager of CNOOC's Zhanjiang branch.  

"At the same time, we will build it into the first offshore 'zero-carbon' power supply demonstration oil field at home and abroad and provide Weizhou Island with green and clean electricity."
 
Located in the Beibu Gulf, the 24-square-kilometer Weizhou Island is rich in solar energy resources, making it an ideal place to build a PV power station.

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