Zhangye in Gansu Province possesses nearly 100 million kilowatts of exploitable clean energy resources, including solar and wind power, with its installed and under-construction new energy capacity exceeding 10 million kilowatts. It is a key component of the Hexi Corridor's mega-scale clean energy base and a nationally significant comprehensive energy hub, as stated by the city's Party secretary during a recent investment promotion event in Lanzhou.
The "Join Hands with Silk Road Golden Zhangye, Compose a New Chapter of Development" investment promotion conference was held as part of the 32nd Lanzhou Fair. Located in the central Hexi Corridor, Zhangye is historically rich, uniquely positioned, resource-abundant, and ecologically significant, earning its "Golden Zhangye" moniker.
The city is endowed with vast resources and immense potential. It holds over 60% of the nation's attapulgite reserves, more than 90% of Gansu's tungsten, molybdenum, and iron reserves, and ranks first in the province for silica and mirabilite deposits, making it one of China's 19 key prospecting areas.
The city's Party secretary highlighted Zhangye's excellent business environment and dynamic vitality. With high-speed and conventional railways traversing east-west, a well-connected expressway network, and an airport with routes to all directions, it is a crucial node on the Silk Road Economic Belt. The city hosts one national-level development zone and five provincial-level industrial parks, with costs for land, electricity, gas, and labor lower than in eastern regions, making it an ideal destination for industrial transfer. Among 56 business environment indicators, 50 rank among the top in western China and are competitive nationally, with the city's average comprehensive credit monitoring index ranking third among all prefecture-level cities in the country.
A senior city official stated that in the new energy sector, Zhangye sincerely invites high-tech, high energy-consuming enterprises with rigid carbon reduction needs to establish direct green power connection projects. It encourages power generators and major electricity consumers to form project entities through joint ventures or cooperation to promote the local consumption of new energy. The city also invites leading companies in hydrogen, photovoltaics, energy storage, and other specialized fields to build three zero-carbon industrial parks, driving industrial energy conservation, low-carbon transformation, and smart energy-carbon management.
Simultaneously, in the new materials sector, the city welcomes quality enterprises to cooperate on projects, promoting deep integration between key new material industries and the new energy sector.
A representative from an energy group explained that after multiple on-site investigations and industry analyses, they chose to locate their project in Gaotai County, driven by Zhangye's unique advantages in resources, industry, and government services. Zhangye's abundant wind and solar green power can cover the project's entire production process, significantly reducing energy consumption. The local mature coking industry in Gaotai can sustainably supply coke oven gas as a raw material. The company uses synthesis and purification technology to convert previously vented industrial tail gas into standardized clean natural gas, achieving resource recycling of waste gas, which fully aligns with national energy conservation and carbon reduction goals.
The company was also drawn to Zhangye's advantages in industrial chain linkages and attentive government services. The current agglomeration of new energy and chemical supporting enterprises in Zhangye, along with a progressively complete upstream and downstream industrial chain, provides a foundation for synergistic industrial development. The synthetic natural gas produced by the project can be directly supplied to local enterprises, enhancing corporate profitability while promoting local pollutant reduction for a win-win outcome.
From the initial project contact to the formal signing in May, the Gaotai county government established a dedicated task force to provide full-process support, accompanying the company for site selection and thoroughly assessing conditions for transportation, water, and electricity. The government proactively serviced key stages like project approval and land use, guiding the completion of preliminary procedures. The efficient and considerate government services at all levels in Zhangye strengthened the company's resolve to establish roots there and deepen its development in the Hexi Corridor.
In May, the energy group signed a cooperation framework agreement with the Gaotai county government for a comprehensive clean energy utilization project. With a total investment of 750 million yuan and planned land use of 150 mu, the project is expected to enable the annual mutual allocation of 350 million cubic meters of natural gas upon full operation, efficiently converting and utilizing coking by-product tail gas.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Zhangye's GDP grew at an average annual rate of 6.8%, exceeding the national average by 1.4 percentage points and the provincial average by 0.8 percentage points, and it received the province's high-quality development "Contribution Award" or "Progress Award" 11 times. In the first quarter of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the city's GDP grew by 7.8%, surpassing the national rate by 2.8 percentage points and the Gansu provincial rate by 1.9 percentage points, demonstrating a strong momentum of catch-up and advancement.