As China plans to speed up construction of solar and wind power generation facilities in dry regions amid efforts to boost renewable power, the government launched the first phase of its wind and solar power projects at the end of 2021, comprising a total of 100 gigawatts of wind and solar power capacity in desert areas.
China plans to build 455 gigawatts of solar and wind power generation capacity in the Gobi and other desert regions by 2030 as part of efforts to boost renewable power use to meet climate change goals, according to a document issued by National Development and Reform Commission and National Energy Administration in March 2022.
The project will be operational by 2025, with a total investment of 28.1 billion yuan (about $3.9 billion). "The power generated by renewable energy will take up more than half of the total transmission capacity," Xiang added. China has large deserts with abundant resources in solar and wind power.
The first phase of the solar and wind project located at Tengger Desert in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region, with an installed capacity of 1 million kilowatts, is expected to generate 1.8 billion kilowatt hours each year, equivalent to the power demand of 1.5 million households, said the company.
China continues its relentless expansion of solar power capacity, now home to the world’s largest solar plant. The 2.2 gigawatt facility spans an area of over 25 square kilometers in the Gobi desert. This $3 billion flagship project demonstrates the epic scale of renewable infrastructure developing worldwide.
The sheer size only becomes clear from aerial views revealing millions of blue-black modules blanketing the desert. This massive plant’s 6 million panels alone account for 1% of the globe’s solar photovoltaic capacity.