Photovoltaic park helps turn semi-desert green

XINING-A large semi-desert, covering hundreds of square kilometers in Northwest China's Qinghai province, is turning green thanks to a photovoltaic park.

The semi-desert, located in the county of Gonghe in the Hainan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, sits at an altitude of 2,920 meters and attracted one of the largest photovoltaic power generation parks in the country in 2012 because of its strong light radiation and long periods of sunshine.

Taking advantage of a 45 billion yuan ($6.29 billion) investment, the photovoltaic park covers 609 square km and can produce more than 19 million kilowatts, said Tu Xinpeng, deputy head of the management committee of green industry development parks in the prefecture.

The park has also brought about unexpected ecological improvements. A vast expanse of solar panels in the park shadows the surface of the semi-desert, which helps lower wind speed and reduce evaporation, thereby increasing vegetation coverage.

Maximum wind speed in the park has been reduced by about 22 percent, and the evaporation rate there has fallen by roughly 30 percent, according to the Huanghe Hydropower Development Co, which built the park.

Considering fire hazards due to the overgrowth of grass, especially in winter, the park has started employing local herdsmen to pasture thousands of sheep.

"The park offers local residents more than 1,000 jobs including herding, reaping pastures and cleaning solar panels," said Huan Xingsheng, deputy director of the maintenance department of the Huanghe photovoltaic equipment maintenance company.

"I can earn 3,000 yuan a month herding for the park, which makes my life a lot easier compared with the old days as a farmer," said Zhang Yuhua, a resident in Dongxiang village in the county.

China's renewable energy generation rose 14 percent in the first half of the year from the same period last year to 887 billion kilowatt-hours, according to the National Energy Administration. Of the total, solar photovoltaic power topped 106 billion kilowatt-hours, up 30 percent year-on-year.