Photovoltaics are booming in Ningxia

In the Tengger Desert of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, beneath the solar panels, you’ll find a unique sight: desert plants like sage and sandy rice thriving alongside crops like tomatoes and peppers. This innovative method not only generates energy on the panels but also includes planting between them and ecological restoration below.

The large-scale development of photovoltaic power generation not only generates green electricity, adding new environmental value, but also provides an innovative approach to desert reclamation. Photovoltaic plants contribute to restoring and enhancing the vegetation of these areas.

For example, building photovoltaic plants in the desert helps stabilize sand dunes and reduce desert water evaporation.

“Grass grid structures play a crucial role in fixing sand. Without them, strong winds would expose the supports of the photovoltaic panels, potentially causing them to collapse. Therefore, desert control and sand prevention are vital for photovoltaic stations,” said Chen Yu, a renewable energy expert. State Grid power specialist Zhongwei Electric Power Co.

As a key supporting project for the Ningxia-Hunan DC project, the country’s first ultra-high voltage transmission corridor whose main goal is to develop large-scale desert photovoltaic bases and transmit new energy, the second phase of the 2 million kilowatts in the The creation of a new energy base in the Tengger Desert in Ningxia is accelerating. Once the second phase is fully operational, it will supply the grid with 3.946 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity each year.

Currently, Zhongwei City has five grid-connected energy storage power plants, with a total installed capacity of 850,000 kilowatts/1.7 million kilowatt-hours. The total installed capacity of new power sources has reached 10.032 million kilowatts, accounting for 86.27 percent of the total installed power generation capacity in the city grid, State Grid Zhongwei Electric Power Co. said.