XINING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Clean energy powers the economy of northwest China's Qinghai Province as China seeks to reduce coal consumption to improve its energy mix.

By the end of 2018, the total installed power generating capacity in Qinghai reached nearly 28 million kilowatts, with clean energy contributing to 86 percent, according to the State Grid Qinghai Electric Power Company.

The installed solar power generating capacity reached 9.6 million kilowatts and that of wind power hit 2.7 million kilowatts. The hydropower capacity reached 11.9 million kilowatts, the company said.

Qinghai started to invest heavily in solar energy in 2009. And in the past few years, it started to build two 10 million kilowatts renewable power generating bases.

Qinghai, rich in solar and wind power, has 100,000 square kilometers of desertified land suitable for the construction of solar and wind farms.

Local authorities have been encouraging more local consumption of the clean energy-generated electricity and pushing to transmit more to other regions.

Last year, the grid transmitted 10 billion kwh of such electricity to other regions. So far this year, the firm has signed deals with regions like Shanghai, Chongqing, Henan and Jiangsu to send them 7 billion kwh of electricity.