With coal off the menu, can China export its renewables model?

(China Dialogue, 11 Nov 2021) Having said it will stop building coal power plants overseas, could China instead export its renewable energy model to developing nations?

In Yinchuan, Ningxia province, on the eastern side of the Yellow River, over four million solar panels turn to the sun. Below the panels, 10,000 mu (667 hectares) of goji berries wait to be picked. This is a mixed “solar + agriculture” project, launched in 2016 by the Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group.

Prior to 2016, this part of the Gobi Desert was as dry as any other. Today, it generates both power and fruit. The solar panels provide shade, which reduces evaporation from the soil – vegetation cover is now 85%, up from 30%, says Baofeng. The company employs local people to clean and maintain the panels and pick the berries, creating jobs and higher incomes. As of the end of 2020, the facility had avoided 2.047 million tonnes of carbon emissions, according to Baofeng, when compared to a traditional coal-fired power plant.

With China having said that it will stop building coal power plants overseas and will provide strong support for low-carbon green energy in developing nations, there is an opportunity to export similar mixed “solar + ” projects.

External link

China Dialogue, 11 Nov 2021: With coal off the menu, can China export its renewables model?

More Related News

Solar power

23 Apr 2024: Biden marks Earth Day with $7bn ‘solar for all’ investment amid week of climate action

18 Apr 2024: Clean energy’s dirty secret: the trail of waste left by India’s solar power boom

9 Apr 2024: England could produce 13 times more renewable energy, using less than 3% of land – analysis

9 Apr 2024: Germany surpasses 400,000 plug-in solar PV “balcony power plants”

5 Apr 2024: Rooftop PV takes off in EU – NGO report

5 Apr 2024: Rooftop PV takes off in EU – NGO report

18 Mar 2024: World’s largest solar manufacturer to cut one-third of workforce

15 Mar 2024: Sales of solar batteries for German homes seen rising 26% in 2024

8 Mar 2024: Italy's green transition efforts held back by lack of big solar projects

5 Mar 2024: Will floating solar prove pivotal in archipelagic Philippines?

4 Mar 2024: ‘We can’t close our borders’: Harsh solar industry protectionism off the table