Ningdong reinventing future of coal

Installed thermal power capacity stands at 17.35 gigawatts, while renewable generation has exceeded 18 GW, supported by large-scale wind, solar and energy storage projects.

Innovation has become another pillar of Ningdong's strategy.

Research spending has risen by more than 30 percent annually for seven consecutive years, while research and development expenditure now accounts for 3 percent of regional GDP, above both national and provincial averages.

As pipelines carrying synthetic fuels run alongside solar arrays stretching across the desert, Ningdong offers a glimpse of how China envisions the future of one of its oldest industries: not abandoning coal overnight, but reinventing what it can produce.