China is dominating the world in installed solar capacity, and the launch of its largest solar farm yet will bring it one step closer to a coal-free future.
According to Electrek, China's 3 gigawatt Mengxi Blue Ocean Photovoltaic Power Station in the vast, remote Gobi Desert came online in early November. The plant is located in Inner Mongolia at the site of a former coal mining operation. It can power a whopping 2 million households.
Coal is considered one of the dirtiest fuels among nonrenewable energy sources, accounting for nearly 20% of all energy-related carbon pollution in the United States in 2022, per the Energy Information Administration. In addition to warming the planet, it contributes to poor air quality, which can cause respiratory issues such as asthma.
While China is still building coal-fired power plants, there are indications it will begin phasing it out significantly over the next 10 years. The massive Mengxi Blue Ocean project will replace nearly 2 million tons of standard coal and slash carbon dioxide pollution by almost 5 million tons annually, per Electrek.
The groundbreaking solar farm is also a huge win for China's economy, especially since clean energy development was a top contributor to the country's GDP growth last year, according to Carbon Brief. Mengxi Blue Ocean is the latest phase of China's West-East Electricity Transfer Project — an infrastructure plan designed to boost investment in western China and meet rising electricity demands in its eastern provinces.
According to Electrek, the power station relies on "new rare earth alloy grounding materials," which should reduce operating costs by 40%, further contributing to economic prosperity.
The fragile grasslands of the Gobi Desert will also benefit from the project since it uses steel instead of more environmentally damaging concrete foundations.
The solar farm is home to China's first utility-scale outdoor solar testing hub in the desert, proving that massive solar projects can thrive in even the harshest conditions.
Earlier in 2024, China switched on a 3.5-gigawatt solar farm in the Xinjiang region, which is considered the world's largest solar plant and includes over 5 million solar panels. It has also made headlines with the construction of a world-first dual-tower solar thermal plant, which can enhance efficiency by 24%.
🗣️ What should be done to make home solar panels cheaper?
🔘 More tax incentives 🏦
🔘 Lower installation costs 🧑🔧
🔘 Better loan options 💸
🔘 They're cheap enough already 🤷
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"Great use of land. The soil temperature and evaporation will be dramatically lowered. Making that entire area much more suitable for life during the summer," one Electrek reader said of the Gobi Desert project.
"That's 4.5GW added in one week. I'm sure next week won't be as impressive, but it's all progress," another said.
Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
