{"id":60037788,"date":"2024-06-20T12:33:50","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T11:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?post_type=news_digest&#038;p=60037788"},"modified":"2024-09-17T14:55:37","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T13:55:37","slug":"solar-panels-power-afforestation-in-xinjiang-desert","status":"publish","type":"news_digest","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/solar-panels-power-afforestation-in-xinjiang-desert\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar panels power afforestation in Xinjiang desert"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Solar farms along a desert highway in the Tarim Basin, north-west China\u2019s Xinjiang, have been powering wells to extract groundwater and irrigate sand-fixing trees.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sand-control <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stdaily.com\/index\/kejixinwen\/202406\/b8deee36be29452f87ede647c877e64e.shtml\">project<\/a> supports over 3,100 hectares of \u201cshelterbelt\u201d bordering the Tarim Desert Highway, using wells powered by 86 solar photovoltaic (PV) farms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Details on the amount of groundwater extracted have not been published. However, research by Xinjiang University published last year <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-4441\/15\/20\/3601#:~:text=In%20the%20past%2030%20years,owing%20to%20scarce%20rainfall%20and\">found<\/a> that groundwater is being overexploited in the Tarim Basin, a region with scarce rainfall and limited surface water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Tarim Desert Highway was completed in 1995 to <a href=\"http:\/\/xj.people.com.cn\/n2\/2024\/0611\/c186332-40874889.html\">transport oil<\/a> from mines in the desert\u2019s hinterland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To combat sand erosion around the road, sand-fixing trees were <a href=\"http:\/\/xj.people.com.cn\/n2\/2024\/0611\/c186332-40874889.html\">planted<\/a> and 109 wells were dug between 2003 and 2006, at a cost of CNY 220 million (about USD 40 million).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two years ago, PV panels replaced diesel to power these wells. The upgrade reduces annual diesel consumption by about 1,000 tonnes and CO2 emissions by 3,410 tonnes, CCTV <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stdaily.com\/index\/kejixinwen\/202406\/b8deee36be29452f87ede647c877e64e.shtml\">reported<\/a>. These farms have generated more than 5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity in the last two years, according to oil and gas producer <a href=\"https:\/\/content-static.cctvnews.cctv.com\/snow-book\/index.html?item_id=2299822100143923557&amp;channelId=1119&amp;toc_style_id=feeds_default&amp;share_to=qq&amp;track_id=e009f92b-f648-4067-ac6e-b756f5855f77\">PetroChina<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In May, the National Energy Administration and National Forestry and Grassland Administration issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.cn\/zhengce\/zhengceku\/202405\/content_6953904.htm\">notice<\/a> on promoting PV-powered sand-control projects in northern provinces such as Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.news.cn\/energy\/20240314\/39343e124d6e47119c4ace51ce5d68d0\/c.html\">Xinhua<\/a>, these projects have multiple benefits. Water needed to clean the PV panels can also irrigate vegetation, and the shade the panels provide conserves moisture for plants underneath. The panels sit on pile foundations that help consolidate the desert sands, Xinhua added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along the Tarim Desert Highway project, about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stdaily.com\/index\/kejixinwen\/202406\/b8deee36be29452f87ede647c877e64e.shtml\">1,500<\/a> plants have been grown on the barren land under the PV panels, according to CCTV.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the harsh environment can pose challenges for PV power stations. \u201cSand and dust accumulation on the panels can reduce efficiency by up to 30%, and they need to be cleaned with water frequently, which also increases maintenance costs. Wind and sand abrade and even bury equipment, posing safety risks,\u201d Wang Yankui, the secretary-general of the National Alliance for Sand Control and Sand Industry in Arid Areas, told <a href=\"https:\/\/app.xinhuanet.com\/news\/article.html?articleId=30643f5682b71648ed4b058132c38854\">Xinhua<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Severe shortage of water supply has also been a bottleneck for such projects, as shown in Inner Mongolia. \u201cWater resources in the autonomous region are relatively scarce, and insufficient water-resource carrying capacity has become a constraint on photovoltaic sand control projects,\u201d the government <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wulanchabu.gov.cn\/zzq\/1440017.html\">states<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Read Dialogue Earth\u2019s analysis of China\u2019s longstanding <a href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/nature\/lessons-from-china-on-afforestation-good-and-bad\/\">afforestation drive<\/a> and its <a href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/china-and-mongolia-team-up-to-fight-sandstorms\/\">efforts with Mongolia to reduce sandstorms<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Solar farms along a desert highway in the Tarim Basin, north-west China\u2019s Xinjiang, have been powering wells to extract groundwater and irrigate sand-fixing trees<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":60006649,"template":"","categories":[50039902],"tags":[50040320,593,607],"country":[20000110],"digest-collection":[50039911],"class_list":["post-60037788","news_digest","type-news_digest","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-forests","tag-irrigation","tag-solar","tag-water-scarcity","country-china"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Solar panels power afforestation in Xinjiang desert | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta 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