China's Greener Energy: Desert Solar & Wind Facilities Connected To Grid

Friday - May 5 2023, 07:28 UTC - 1 year ago

China has now connected the first of its solar and wind power generation plants in the desert areas of the country to the electricity grid. They have also been rapidly building nuclear power generation capacities and have invested in green hydrogen projects to shift away from fossil fuels. This is expected to help the country reducing carbon emissions and transitioning to greener forms of energy.

The first of China's wind and solar energy projects being built in the desert areas is now connected to the electricity grid and has begun generating power, media outlet ChinaDaily reported last week. China has been building green energy projects in the Gobi Desert and other arid regions in Central China at a cost of 85 billion yuan (US$12.28 billion).

With the planet needing to reduce carbon emissions, countries are now innovating in generating greener energy. Interesting Engineering reported earlier this year how Switzerland installed 5,000 solar panels on the highest dam in Europe. On its part, China is looking to convert the arid regions of its geography into power generation zones.

China launched a grand plan to install solar and wind generation facilities with a total energy output of 100 GW to turn its power demand from one fueled by coal to one better for the environment. These energy generation facilities are located in the dry regions that cover 19 provinces of the country, and the first of these projects went online last week.

Located in the Tengger Desert in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, the solar and wind generation plant has an installed capacity of one million kilowatts (One gigawatt). The plant is expected to generate 1.8 billion kilowatt-hours of energy annually to power 1.5 million households.

The plant is also the country's first ultrahigh-voltage power transmission channel and a significant project transmitting energy generated in the Gobi Desert and other arid regions to the country's centrally located Hunan province.

Following the achievement, China is expected to step up the construction of renewable power generation facilities, and it looks to transition to greener forms of energy. Over the past year, renewable energy capacity in China has grown by a whopping 86.5 percent, the media outlet reported. Wind power generation capacity of 10.4 million kW while 33.6 million kW of solar power generation capacity were added in the past year. Experts told ChinaDaily that with their abundant wind and solar resources, regions like Ningxia, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia were expected to play a vital role in helping the country achieve its sustainable energy goals.

Apart from renewable energy, China is also rapidly building nuclear power generation capacities as it looks to shift away from fossil fuels.