The Tarim Desert Highway zero-carbon demonstration project, China's longest photovoltaic irrigation and sand control project, has generated more than 5 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity as of Monday, according to PetroChina. 

The Tarim Desert Highway, which traverses the Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, stretches 522 kilometers. Eighty-six photovoltaic power stations were built along the highway to provide green electricity, pump water and irrigate over 3,100 hectares of land, completely replacing diesel generators. The project is expected to reduce diesel consumption by approximately 1,000 tonnes and cut carbon dioxide emissions by about 3,410 tonnes annually.