![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/300912.jpg\" "\\"This")
<\/p>\nORDOS (China), Sept 26 \u2014 An ocean of blue solar panels ripples across the ochre dunes of Inner Mongolia\u2019s Kubuqi desert, a glittering example of China\u2019s almost inconceivably mammoth energy transition.<\/p>\n
Even as other countries have put the brakes on desert solar projects for economic or technical reasons, China \u2014 the world\u2019s largest emitter of greenhouse gases \u2014 is ploughing ahead.<\/p>\n
Desert solar installations are a key part of China\u2019s plans to reach carbon neutrality by 2060. The country\u2019s solar capacity dwarfs global efforts and is so substantial it may even impact local weather patterns.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore, there was nothing here… it was desolate,\u201d Kubuqi local Chang Yongfei told AFP as he gestured towards fields of shimmering panels.<\/p>\n
The installations are so enormous, they are visible from space.<\/p>\n
AFP analysis of satellite images over the last decade shows in Kubuqi alone more than 100 square kilometres of panels have been installed, an area roughly the size of Paris.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, China pledged to expand wind and solar capacity to more than six times its 2020 levels, as it tries to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 7-10 percent from peak levels.<\/p>\n
The \u201cdefining factor\u201d for building in the desert is the availability of otherwise unused land, according to analyst David Fishman.<\/p>\n
But the remote, sun-soaked terrain poses formidable challenges.<\/p>\n
Sandstorms can degrade panel ventilators, while blistering temperatures reduce the efficiency of solar cells. Sand accumulation can demand scarce water for cleaning.<\/p>\n
Kubuqi\u2019s solar panels are designed to counter those obstacles, with self-cleaning ventilators and double-sided cells that allow them to capture light reflected from the ground, according to Chinese state media.<\/p>\n
Infrastructure key<\/p>\n
The distance to energy-hungry urban areas, and the network sophistication required to transport the electricity, has stalled desert projects from North Africa to the United States.<\/p>\n
The energy generated in Kubuqi is destined for densely populated Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, hundreds of kilometres away.<\/p>\n
And the growth of solar capacity \u2014 overshooting a government target nearly six years early \u2014 has not been matched by power grid development.<\/p>\n
This causes some energy to be lost, along with congestion on power lines.<\/p>\n
Overcoming this requires infrastructure \u201cto effectively allocate and dispatch power around the country without allowing bottlenecks to occur\u201d, said Fishman.<\/p>\n
Some places, including Inner Mongolia and neighbouring Ningxia and Gansu, are \u201crestricting new project approvals unless they can explicitly demonstrate\u201d the energy won\u2019t be wasted, he added.<\/p>\n
Despite this, in the first half of the year, China installed more solar than the entire solar capacity in the United States as of the end of 2024.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This combination image created on September 25, 2025 shows a handout satellite image from Copernicus Sentinel Data 2025 taken on July 16, 2025 and received on August 8, 2025 of fields of solar panels at the Kubuqi Photovoltaic Desert Control Project in the Kubuqi desert, near Ordos, in China\u2019s Inner Mongolia region (top) and the same area taken on November 8, 2016. \u2014 AFP pic<\/p>\n
Coal\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sheer scale of some desert solar fields might create their own climatic effect, according to the University of Lund\u2019s Zhengyao Lu.<\/p>\n
Heat absorption across large areas can change atmospheric flows and have \u201cnegative secondary effects\u201d, like rainfall reduction elsewhere, he said.<\/p>\n
However, the risks of solar energy \u201cremain minor compared to the dangers of continuing greenhouse gas emissions\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n
The solar expansion does not mean fossil fuels have been abandoned, especially in Inner Mongolia, a traditional mining region.<\/p>\n
Around Kubuqi, soot-blackened trucks and chimney stacks belching smoke show the industry\u2019s persistence.<\/p>\n
China brought more coal power online in the first half of this year than any time since 2016, a report said in August.<\/p>\n
The polluting fuel \u201cconstitutes a real structural obstacle to the expansion of wind and solar power\u201d, NGO Greenpeace said this summer.<\/p>\n
\u2018Good transition\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chang, the local resident, told AFP he used to work in the coal industry.<\/p>\n
Now, he runs a hotel made up of huts nestled in the sand dunes, not far from the solar fields.<\/p>\n
Views of the shimmering solar cells have gone viral online, as Kubuqi has become a popular domestic holiday destination.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe transition has been very good for the region,\u201d 46-year-old Chang said.<\/p>\n
Quadbike tours, camel rides and dune surfing have become a new source of income for locals.<\/p>\n
Chang worries solar expansion might swallow up the whole desert, and with it this new revenue stream.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I have confidence the government will leave us a little bit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should be enough.\u201d \u2014 AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORDOS (China), Sept 26 \u2014 An ocean of blue solar panels ripples across the ochre dunes of Inner…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[64,63,110812,110811,110815,110813,110810,128,110814,285],"class_list":{"0":"post-169418","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-carbon-neutrality-by-2060","11":"tag-china-energy-transition","12":"tag-desert-solar-challenges","13":"tag-inner-mongolia-greenhouse-gases","14":"tag-kubuqi-desert-solar-panels","15":"tag-science","16":"tag-solar-capacity-expansion","17":"tag-space"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}