NASA has published a new series of pictures of the Great Solar Wall, a giant cluster of PV power projects in Inner Mongolia's Kubuqi Desert.
“Sandy and mostly devoid of life, the Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia once had a reputation for being a ‘sea of death.' More recently, its dune fields have become a sea of photovoltaic possibility, transformed by a surge of newly installed solar panels,” NASA said in a statement. “The construction is part of China’s multiyear plan to build a solar great wall. designed to generate enough energy to power Beijing.”
The US space agency published an image of the desert area before solar panels were installed in 2017, along with two images showing the current deployment. China Daily reported that the region had about 5.4 GW of installed solar capacity as of late August 2024.
The current operational capacity includes a 2 GW facility developed by state-owned China Three Gorges, which is the largest plant visible in the images. State Power Investment Corp., meanwhile, built the 300 MW horse-shaped Junma Solar Power Station, which is also clearly visible in the images.
The site is projected to reach 100 GW of capacity by 2030, spanning about 400 km with an average width of 5 km.
“The Kubuqi’s sunny weather, flat terrain, and proximity to industrial centers make it a desirable location for solar power generation,” NASA said. “Panels are being installed in a long, narrow band of dunes just south of the Yellow River between the cities of Baotou and Bayannur.”
