Datong City is gradually moving away from its historical reliance on coal as its primary economic driver. On August 11, at a Shanxi province series press conference themed "Getting Off to a Good Start for the 15th Five-Year Plan," Datong Municipal Party Deputy Secretary and Mayor Liu Junyi stated that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the city will focus on transforming from a major energy hub to a strong one, shifting from a resource-driven development model to an innovation-driven one, and translating resource advantages into tangible development outcomes.

As the nation's largest production base for high-quality thermal coal, Datong operates 59 coal mines with an annual raw coal output of 150 million tonnes. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Datong supplied 430 million tonnes of coal to 20 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) to ensure energy security, playing a vital role in safeguarding national energy stability. Datong Municipal Party Standing Committee Member and Executive Vice Mayor Zhai Yongqing noted that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Datong will promote the intelligent upgrade of coal mining operations. By the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the city's total coal-fired power generation capacity is expected to exceed 14 GW.

While stabilizing traditional energy production and supply, the pace of new energy development is accelerating. Currently, Datong's new energy installed capacity exceeds 11 GW, accounting for over 57% of total installed capacity, with power generation contributing more than 35% of the total. The 6 GW Jinbei (Northern Shanxi) New Energy Base is scheduled to be completed by 2026, and by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan, new energy installed capacity is expected to double to 22 GW, representing over 62% of total capacity. Concurrently, Datong is expediting the construction of the Hunyuan Pumped Storage and other new energy storage projects, with total energy storage capacity projected to exceed 6 GW by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan.

The value chain of Datong's energy industry is also being extended. The city is actively cultivating new-quality productive forces, accelerating the commercialization of first-of-its-kind coal-fired power technology and equipment, and promoting the implementation of the Zuoyun new-type coal-electricity integration project. To further extend the industrial chain, Datong is leveraging leading enterprises like Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) to strengthen the power battery cell manufacturing and related sectors, transforming energy advantages into industrial advantages. In terms of energy intelligence, Datong is deeply advancing energy conservation and carbon reduction, continuously raising the level of electrification in end-use energy consumption, and accelerating the application of new business models.

The computing power industry represents a new track for Datong's transformative leapfrog development. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Datong had established over 410,000 standard server racks, accounting for 80% of the province's total rack capacity. It has deployed 758,000 servers, with an operational computing power IT load capacity of 1 GW, and the annual electricity consumption of the city's computing power centers has exceeded 6 billion kWh, placing the computing power industry in the national first tier.