14 DAY TRIAL // China might have recently given the thumbs up to plans to build two new nuclear reactors in its Shandong province, but this does not mean that it has given up on the idea of increasing its dependence on green energy sources.
Thus, media reports say that a new solar power plant is now under construction in the country's Gansu province. Once completed, this solar photovoltaic project is expected to have an overall energy generating capacity of 1.1 gigawatts.
According to Clean Technica, the company in charge of implementing this green-oriented project is China-based solar manufacturer and developer China Singyes Solar Technologies Holdings.
The 1.1-gigawatt solar power plant project is to be completed in several consecutive phases. All in all, the plant should be up and running at full capacity in about five years' time.
Of these, the first phase targets the installation of 300 megawatts’ worth of solar power capacity in Hongshagang Industrial Park in Minquin County, Wuwei.
Should things go according to plan, work on installing this 300 megawatts capacity should be completed by the end of this year. Specialists estimate that this will translate into an annual clean energy output of 480 million kWh.
China Singyes Solar Technologies Holdings explains that the construction of this solar power plant is part and parcel of a collaboration with the Minqin County government that is intended to deliver a clean energy development zone and an environmental industry.
Interestingly enough, it would appear that developing a solar research and development base is among the issues targeted by this partnership.
“We hope that, by participating in solar project in Minqin County, Wuwei, Gansu Province, we can optimise the local energy structure, protect the ecological environment, as well as promoting the use of solar energy, and advancing the development of the PV industry,” Liu Hongwei, chairman of Singyes Solar, said in a statement.
Furthermore, “We will make use of the Wuwei solar product R&D base and take advantage of local conditions to explore a new PV industry that incorporates PV power generation, desert management, and modern agriculture as well as the new approach of industrialized desertification control.”
Once it goes online, the 1.1GW solar power plant will first and foremost serve local agricultural practices and areas where access to electricity is an issue.
Despite its efforts to step up solar power generation, recent news says that wind is the clean energy source that enjoys quite a lot of popularity in China. Thus, in 2013, the country's wind power industry is said to have had an output 22% greater than that of the nuclear industry.