The 133 km long and 25 km wide solar wall in Inner Mongolia will produce enough electricity to meet Beijing’s annual demand.
From the 7th century BC to the 3rd century BC, Chinese dynasties built the Great Wall, stretching 21,196 km. Now, after two millennia, China is constructing another wall, this time to harness abundant solar energy, according to Popular Science.
Workers installing photovoltaic panels in the Kubuqi Desert. (Photo: China Daily)
Located in the Kubuqi Desert along the southern edge of the Yellow River in northern China, in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Solar Great Wall will span 133 km and be 25 km wide. China expects this wall to generate 180 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually by 2030. According to Ordos Energy, the company responsible for the project, this capacity will be sufficient to meet the energy needs of Beijing, which consumes about 135.8 billion kWh of electricity each year.
However, a portion of the electricity produced will benefit local communities, according to Li Kai, an official in the electricity sector in Dalad Banner (a smaller administrative division in Inner Mongolia). A new transmission line will transport 48 billion kWh of electricity from the installation site to Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei each year. “All projects are funded by state-owned companies and local governments without the need for external funding. In total, about 50,000 job opportunities will be created,” Li stated.
In addition to its electrical output and job creation, the project also has positive implications for conservation. The Yellow River is undergoing desertification, with its basin slowly degrading to resemble desert conditions. The installation process will help restore 27 million hectares of land in the region by providing shade and reducing evaporation. The solar panels will also act as windbreaks, protecting the surrounding environment from soil erosion.
The shaded areas will create opportunities for cultivating crops. The project aims to plant approximately 2,400 hectares of crops to rehabilitate the more desert-like areas of the Solar Great Wall. Local authorities are also committed to establishing a symbiotic relationship between economic development and ecological conservation.
Large-scale green energy projects, whether solar, wind, or a combination of both, are becoming increasingly popular as the world seeks to reduce carbon emissions. This trend is also occurring in the United States.
The installation of photovoltaic panels does come with several environmental threats, including habitat disruption and increased bird collisions; however, scientists and engineers are working to enhance pollinator-friendly vegetation around the installations to create wildlife corridors.
