China’s Desert Renewable Energy Revolution

China is turning its deserts into places for clean energy. This plan is called the “desert, Gobi, and wasteland” initiative. It focuses on using large areas of empty land to make electricity from the sun and wind.

One example is the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. This area gets a lot of sunshine—between 3,000 to 3,300 hours each year. The winds are steady, blowing at about 8 meters per second. Because of this, Ningxia has built many new energy projects.

Now, Ningxia has installed 40.19 million kilowatts of new energy capacity. This is more than half (55%) of all the power capacity in the region. It shows that even dry, empty places can be used to make clean energy.

The Solar Great Wall: A Big Solar Project

In the Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia, China is building a huge solar power project called the “Solar Great Wall.” This project aims to make enough electricity to power Beijing, the capital city.

The Solar Great Wall will be about 400 kilometers (250 miles) long and 5 kilometers (3 miles) wide. It will use the flat, sunny land of the desert to set up many solar panels. The goal is to finish the project by 2030 and produce up to 100 gigawatts of power. This amount of energy could supply electricity to around 29 million homes.

Besides making electricity, the project will help the environment. The solar panels will stop sand from moving and reduce strong winds. This will help prevent the desert from spreading. Also, the shade from the panels will keep the ground cooler and hold in moisture, making it easier for plants to grow underneath.

Combining Renewable Energy with Nature

In the Kubuqi Desert, there’s a project called the Northern Ordos New Energy Base. By the end of 2023, the first part of this project connected one gigawatt of solar power to the electricity grid. This turned over 30,000 mu (about 2,000 hectares) of desert into a place with many solar panels and growing plants.

When the whole project is done, it will send about 40 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area. More than half of this energy will come from clean sources. This will save about 6 million tonnes of coal and cut down carbon dioxide emissions by around 16 million tonnes each year.

These projects also create jobs for local people. For example, in Gansu Province, solar energy projects are combined with tree-planting programs. Local villagers, like Qin Zhaoping, work by taking care of plants under the solar panels. Qin says, “It generates electricity, combats desertification, and provides me with an income.”

Using Old Coal Mining Areas for Solar Power

China is also using old coal mining areas to set up solar power projects. In November 2024, a three-gigawatt solar power station in Otog Front Banner, Ordos, started working. This is the largest solar power base built on a coal mining area in China.

This power station makes 5.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. That’s enough to meet the yearly energy needs of two million families. By using these old mining areas, China shows that solar power can be set up in many different places.

China’s Leadership in Solar Energy

China is a world leader in solar energy. Here are some key points:

• As of June 2024, China had 386,875 megawatts of solar power capacity, which is about 51% of the world’s total.
• Between 2017 and 2023, China added an average of 39,994 megawatts of solar power each year.
• Projects like the Solar Great Wall help China stay at the top in renewable energy.

These efforts show China’s commitment to clean energy and protecting the environment. By using new technology and planning, China is turning deserts and old mining areas into sources of renewable energy. This not only helps the country but also sets an example for the world.