Inner Mongolia cuts water use in solar sector

In Baotou, which produces 40 percent of the country's monocrystalline silicon and polycrystalline silicon, and is striving to build a global green silicon city, the local government has also intensified efforts to utilize reclaimed water to meet the demand of manufacturers.

The output of polycrystalline silicon in Baotou increased by 94.7 percent year-on-year in 2024 to 753,000 tons, and the production of monocrystalline silicon soared by 94.4 percent to 558,000 tons, according to Zhang Pengfei, an official with Baotou's development and reform commission.

In addition to constructing three new industrial wastewater treatment and reclaimed water purification projects, one wastewater treatment plant underwent an upgrade to meet higher standards, according to the commission. The efforts increased the city's daily capacity to provide highly purified reclaimed water by 163,500 cubic meters, meeting the water consumption demand of five crystalline silicon companies.

By the end of last year, a new wastewater treatment plant was put into use at Baotou Equipment Manufacturing Industrial Park.

The 850-million-yuan plant can produce 90,000 cubic meters of high-quality reclaimed water daily, said Feng Jianxi, an executive at Baotou Water Resources Group, the operator of the facility.

"The center excels in treating both domestic sewage and complex industrial wastewater, producing outstanding treatment outcomes. This enables the reclaimed water to meet the high-quality demand of crystalline silicon manufacturers in the industrial park," he said.

The project is a microcosm of Baotou's efforts to tap the potential of reclaimed water in supporting its huge crystalline silicon sector and other industries, according to a statement from Baotou's development and reform commission.

"In recent years, Baotou has launched 16 projects as part of a national pilot initiative for building demonstration cities for utilizing reclaimed water, with a total investment exceeding 4.1 billion yuan... All the projects will be completed and put into use this year, increasing the city's annual capacity to allocate and utilize reclaimed water by 70 million cubic meters.

"These facilities will aid in the establishment of a reclaimed water utilization system in Baotou, incorporating small-scale subsystems within enterprises, medium-sized systems in industrial parks, and an overarching system spanning the city," the statement said.