From Dusty Desert, to Solar Park!

As part of an ambitious project, the Kubuqi desert, located in Inner Mongolia, China, has turned its dunes into a field of photovoltaics, thus powering the country with green energy while curbing desertification and encouraging agriculture.

The “Solar Great Wall” is part of China’s multiyear plan to generate a maximum of 100 gigawatts (GW) – enough to power Beijing – by 2030.

The project will be 400 kilometres long and 5 kilometres wide, achieving a maximum generating capacity of 100 GW. So far, some 5.4 GW have been installed. The solar panels will serve other purposes, like curbing desertification by preventing the movement of dunes and slowing winds and creating shade that slows evaporation, making it easier to grow pasture grasses underneath them. According to Global Energy Monitor’s Global Solar Power Tracker, with an operating solar farm capacity of 386,875 megawatts – or 51% of the global total – China is the world’s leader in solar energy.