China's AI Rush in Energy, Mines to Heavy Rail, Turbine Maintenance Down 60 Percent

AI illustration in the energy sector. CHN Energy uses AI for coal mines, wind power plants, and heavy freight trains.

China Energy Investment Corp or CHN Energy is accelerating the use of artificial intelligence in the energy sector. AI is now used in smart coal mines, power plants, to heavy freight trains.

China Daily, quoted on Sunday, August 2, reported that CHN Energy is China's largest coal-fired power plant by capacity. The state-owned company has begun to use AI in key operational sectors.

CHN Energy spokesperson Zhao Zhe said the integration of "AI+Energy" has had a direct impact on the company.

According to Zhao, this innovation cuts wind turbine maintenance time by up to 60 percent. Labor efficiency in smart coal mines also rises to five times the national average.

The ability of AI CHN Energy is based on Qingyuan, the first AI model in China with 100 billion parameters specifically designed for the electricity industry.

Parameters are a measure of an AI model's ability to read patterns and process data. The larger and more precise the model, the wider the data that can be analyzed.

Qingyuan is used in more than 500 wind power plants operated by Longyuan Power, a subsidiary of CHN Energy.

Zhao said the model processes real-time data from 140 million kilowatt of installed capacity. From there, the system can read equipment conditions and give warnings before disruptions get bigger.

The accuracy of equipment anomaly warnings is said to exceed 85 percent. Equipment anomalies are signs of abnormalities in machines that can be the beginning of damage.

Meanwhile, the accuracy of the overall diagnosis reaches 90 percent. With this system, the company's operations shift from a pattern of treatment after problems arise to early warning.

In the mining sector, the first wave of 10 national pilot smart coal mines belonging to CHN Energy has completed official acceptance.

The coal mining work area is said to reach 100 percent of medium to high level smart operations.

In energy logistics, CHN Energy operates China's first autonomous heavy freight train with a capacity of 10,000 metric tons on the Shenmu-Shuozhou line.

Autonomous trains are trains that can run with an automatic system without full manual control.

The train increases operating speed by 3 kilometers per hour. The company also saves 5.6 million yuan or about 830,000 US dollars in annual labor costs.

China Daily said that major energy companies in China are now moving quickly to incorporate AI into the entire operational chain. Technological innovation is placed as part of efforts to maintain national energy security.

The head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University, Lin Boqiang, said the use of "industrial brains" in the energy sector shows a shift from basic automation to data-based intelligence.

"By embedding AI into key operational workflows, China ensures that the smart energy transition not only optimizes resource allocation, but also provides a robust foundation for national energy security," Lin said.

The technological push goes hand in hand with CHN Energy's operational performance.

In the first half of 2026, the company reported coal production and sales of around 420 million tons, up 6.9 percent compared to the same period last year.

CHN Energy's total electricity generation reached nearly 600 billion kilowatt-hours, up 3.3 percent.

Kilowatt-hour is a unit for measuring the amount of electricity produced or used.

According to the guidelines of the National Energy Administration of China, the country is promoting digital and intelligent transformation in energy infrastructure. The goal is to increase the flexibility of the system, maintain supply security, and meet the dual carbon targets.

China's dual carbon targets refer to efforts to reach a peak in carbon emissions and carbon neutrality.

Lin said the integration of AI into traditional energy assets is now not just a tool for efficiency. According to him, AI is starting to become a structural need in the energy supply chain.

"By applying AI throughout the supply chain, from extraction and generation to logistics, energy giants such as CHN Energy are building scalable models that balance energy security with low-carbon modernization," he said.