A 'Blue Great Wall' Rises on the Gobi Desert

Hotan, China (ANTARA/PRNewswire)- The 1-million-kilowatt photovoltaic desertification-control project in Minfeng, Hotan, Xinjiang, built with the participation of China Railway 23rd Bureau Group, has recently achieved full-capacity grid connection of all 101 arrays. It is one of southern Xinjiang's largest integrated centralized photovoltaic and desertification-control projects and a "green Great Wall" at the desert's edge that combines ecological benefits with energy value.

The project has a total investment of 2.97 billion yuan and covers more than 14.6 million square meters. It uses an innovative three-dimensional ecological management model: power generation above the panels, sand stabilization beneath the panels and grass planting between the panels. While generating electricity, the photovoltaic panels provide shade for drought-tolerant sand-stabilizing plants beneath them, reducing water evaporation and promoting vegetation recovery.

Once operational, the project's first-year on-grid electricity output is expected to reach 1.9 billion kilowatt-hours, equivalent to saving 580,000 metric tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 1.55 million metric tons. It will not only effectively supplement clean energy supply to the southern Xinjiang power grid and ease the local imbalance between power supply and demand, but also inject strong "green momentum" into Xinjiang's efforts to build a national comprehensive new energy base and promote high-quality development in southern Xinjiang.