In June, Tarim Oilfield Desert Highway Zero-Carbon Demonstration Project was completed and put into operation in the Taklimakan Desert. It is the longest sand control project in China with a photovoltaic powered irrigating system.

Tarim Oilfield Desert Highway Zero-Carbon Demonstration Project comprises 86 newly built photovoltaic power stations with a total installed capacity of 3,540 kilowatts, and an annual power generation capacity of 3.62 million kilowatt-hours, which can meet the daily irrigation needs of ecological forest along the highway. Completely replacing diesel engines for power generation, the photovoltaic power stations helps to achieve zero carbon emissions along the whole line.

Completed in 1995, Tarim Oilfield Desert Highway has a total length of 566km, and is the world's longest classified highway running through the mobile desert. To resist sandstorms, PetroChina Tarim Oilfield built 436-kilometer-long ecological forest along the highway. It is estimated that the forest can absorb about 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide every year, which can compensate the carbon emissions of passing vehicles, providing a model for desert control as well as the operation and maintenance of desert highways.