HARBIN - Clean energy last year made up a larger share of the energy mix in Heilongjiang, a province in China's Northeast rust belt.

Clean energy led by wind generated 15 percent of the total electricity in 2017, said the State Grid Heilongjiang Electric Power Company Wednesday.

The share rose by 2.6 percentage points compared with 2016 and 5 percentage points compared with 2015.

Wind energy generated 10.8 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of power in the coal-rich province last year, up 22 percent year-on-year, the company said.

The amount equals the power generated by four 600 mW coal-powered generators, helping reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants by 8.2 million metric tons.

Heilongjiang, home to the fourth largest wind energy resource nationwide, is one of China's nine large wind energy bases.

The installed wind energy capacity in Heilongjiang has reached 5.68 gW, accounting for 20 percent of its total power capacity.