China's largest solar-powered green hydrogen facility has been put into operation after the last piece of solar panel was installed in Kuqa, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Wednesday.

The facility is able to generate hydrogen with no carbon emissions during the process, replacing the old solution of using natural gas.

The green hydrogen facility is expected to reduce 485,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year, marking a new breakthrough in the country's continued efforts in cutting significant carbon emissions in the industrial sector.

The field of solar panels span an area equivalent to 900 soccer fields at the facility, which has already connected to the grid. Thanks to the local climate which provides abundant solar energy, it can generate nearly 600 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.

As the only petrochemical enterprise of the Sinopec Group in Xinjiang, Tahe Refining &Chemical Co., Ltd. provides about 70 percent of the gasoline and diesel supply in southern Xinjiang.

However, the hydrogen used in the refining process currently emits a large amount of carbon dioxide in the production process. Replacing existing natural gas hydrogen production with photovoltaic power generation will play a vital role in reducing carbon emissions.