Green energy breathing life into desert in China

The middle section of Kubuqi Desert in the Ordos Basin, northwestern China, could have been left to burn to oblivion, but China has turned it into a mine of green energy.

When the Dalad Photovoltaic Power Generation Application Pioneer Base was installed in 2018, it had a capacity of 2 million kilowatt.

“This electricity generated is directly supplied to factories but still we have a surplus, overproduced electricity that we won’t use and that we do not want to waste. So, we will use the excess green energy to produce green hydrogen and we also use that part of electricity to separate the air and make green nitrogen and finally make green ammonia,” a plant official explains.

It can be compressed into liquid shape, and the ammonia can again be converted back into electricity when solar is low and the battery system can’t support the process.

All the fuel from the green island at the plant are solar-generated and are totally green.

“We will maintain this internal cycle without any support from the grid. We have the confidence to say that in the future we will reach the target of at least 80 per cent of direct electricity supply and 20 per cent as back-up from grid but we will do our best not to use power from the grid,” a plant official explains their adherence to government policy on balancing source of electricity.

It is a strategic breakthrough for ecological protection in the Yellow River Basin, demonstrating Dalad Banner’s long-term dedication towards high quality development that is environmentally friendly.

Solar Installation In Dalad Banner

The National Energy Administration approved the first phase of the project on November 30, 2017, involving a 500,000-kilowatt capacity and a total investment of half a billion dollars. Construction began on May 29, 2018, and the project achieved full grid connection on December 10, 2018, completing 20 days ahead of the required timeline.

Three decades ago, Kubuqi was a barren wasteland plagued by wind and sand, with no basic infrastructure such as water, electricity, or roads. Farmers and herders endured severe poverty, surviving on the sparse vegetation that managed to grow in the unforgiving desert.

A Section Of Kubuqi Desert In Dalad Banner

Generally, for the People’s Republic, photovoltaic power generation is part of a Healthy China, an agenda of “promoting human capital and focusing on mental and wholesome health aspects that state-of-the-art hospitals can’t solve,” Professor Ling Li, Peking University.

The installation of PV panels has proven effective in reducing ground wind speeds by up to 50 per cent, while sand fixation grids and the cultivation of plants have played a key role in controlling sandstorms. Typically, achieving such a sand fixation effect takes about a decade, but in this case, it was accomplished in just four years.

The total area of Kubuqi Desert is approximately 18, 600 square kilometers (27.9 million mu). To the east, it borders the national 5A tourist attraction, Xiangshawan (Whistling Dune Bay), and to the west, it connects with the 4A tourist attraction, Engebei.

It spans 150 kilometers from east to west and 15 to 20 kilometers from north to south in Dalad Banner, covering an area of 2, 900 square kilometers (4. 35 million mu) The desert area in Dalad Banner accounts for 15 per cent of the total area of Kubuqi Desert and 35 per cent of the total area of the banner.

Solar Panels Convert Energy From The Sun Into Electricity

In 2021, there were concerns that China was “burning more coal, a growing climate challenge”, as reported by The New York Times, and it was with its abundance of the fossil fuel which it will still depend on for a while. From mining to manufacturing, greenhouse gas emissions from use of coal had flared to 6 per cent, and it burns more coal than all the other countries combined.

But things are changing as the country now promotes eco-friendly modernization with consideration of the adverse effects on burning coal on the environment.

Yet, when China switched up the production of solar technology, the US warned against “flood of cheap green energy exports,” with Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen saying that “China’s export strategy threatened to destabilize global supply chains that were developing around industries such as solar, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries.”

Visit To The Dalad Photovoltaic Power Generation Application Pioneer Base Solar Plant

In June 2021, the Dalad Banner completed its 1 million kWh photovoltaic (PV) base, which is expected to generate 2 billion kWh of green electricity annually and restore 40 square kilometers of desert.

As the project progresses, Dalad Banner aims to develop four key bases: a clean energy demonstration base producing 4 billion kWh per year, a 133.3-square-kilometer organic agriculture and forestry base, a desert research and education base attracting 150,000 tourists annually, and a three-industry integration base with an expected annual output of $270 million.

This ambitious plan combines renewable energy, environmental restoration, and sustainable development.

The ecological economic belt along the Yellow River can’t be denied. 

The project is essentially implementing president Xi Jinping's ecological civilization ideology, adhered to the value that “11 lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.”

The idea is to build an ecological security barrier in northern China, with desertification control as an important means.

This was the first base among the third batch of 10 photovoltaic pioneer projects nationwide to achieve full grid connection in one phase.

Under the National Energy Administration's relevant policies, the banner received a reward incentive project of 500,000 kilowatts with a total investment of $370 million.

This initiative has attracted five major players in the photovoltaic industry including State Power Investment Corporation, China General Nuclear Power Group, and China Three Gorges Renewables.

Construction began on October 12, 2019, and by June 30, 2020, all conditions for grid connection were met. On December 24, 2020, 100,000 kilowatts were connected to the grid, and full grid connection was achieved by June 13, 2021.

Beyond environmental improvements, the photovoltaic (PV) plant has created numerous job opportunities for local residents, including roles in planting cash crops and managing operations and maintenance. With new vegetation to sustain them, the locals have also begun animal husbandry.

The growing interest in the desert has spurred tourism, leading to the establishment of hotels, supermarkets, restaurants, guesthouses, and specialty shops. Many locals have even turned to online platforms for e-commerce, expanding their reach.