A ‘wall’ of 400 kilometers, but without bricks or traps. China is building a megainfraestructura in the middle of inhospitable Kubuqi desert.
The land once known as “the sea of death” and located in Inner Mongolia is today the ‘headquarters’ of one of the most ambitious energy projects in the world. It is about a 400 kilometer long solar power plantdesigned to generate enough electricity to supply millions of homes.
As reported by , the desert landscape is changing from infinite sand to a no less extensive sea of photovoltaic modules. In addition to generating energy, help stop desertificationsay those responsible for the project.
The satellite images of NASA Earth Observatory They have already revealed the immense rows of solar panels, which have ‘colored’ the desert with a bright tone. Their appearance is, if possible, more striking because they are bifacial solar modules of the latest generation, designed to maximize energy performance.
The ‘Solar Great Wall‘ is scheduled for operate already in 2030 and its immediate objective is generate more energy than the entire city of Beijing consumes; that is, more than the megalopolis that hosts 22 million people.
The area is not coincidental. He Kubuqi Desert is one of the sunniest places on Earthwith a average record of more than 3,000 hours of sunshine per year (quite a bit more than in Spain, where the average is around 2,500).
Bifacial solar modules present a novelty and a relevant strength compared to conventional ones, which is their ability to capture sunlight from both sideswhich increases electricity production by up to 8%.
Beyond a design intended as an artistic element in itself, it is also a strategy against desertification. The immense solar field manages to slow down the accumulation of sand, reduce evaporation and create a protected environment that allows for most favorable conditions for the growth of grasses and other plants.
