China races to build the world's largest solar farm to meet emissions targets

By&nbspKEN MORITSUGU and NG HAN GUAN&nbspwith&nbspAP

Published on 22/08/2025 - 12:08 GMT+2

Chinese authorities officials past period showed disconnected what they opportunity will beryllium nan world's largest star workplace erstwhile completed precocious connected a Tibetan plateau. It will screen 610 quadrate kilometres, which is nan size of nan metropolis of Chicago.

China has been installing star panels acold faster than anyplace other successful nan world, and nan finance is starting to salary off. A study released Thursday recovered that nan country's c emissions edged down 1 per cent successful nan first six months of 2025 compared to a twelvemonth earlier, extending a inclination that began successful March 2024.

The bully news is China's carbon emissions whitethorn person peaked good up of a authorities target of doing truthful earlier 2030. But China, nan world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, will request to bring them down overmuch much sharply to play its portion successful slowing world ambiance change.

For China to scope its declared extremity of c neutrality by 2060, emissions would request to autumn 3 per cent connected mean per twelvemonth complete nan adjacent 35 years, said Lauri Myllyvirta, nan Finland-based writer of nan study and lead expert astatine nan Centre for Research connected Energy and Clean Air.

“China needs to get to that 3 per cent territory arsenic soon arsenic possible,” he said.

'Moment of world significance'

China's emissions person fallen earlier during economical slowdowns. What's different this clip is that energy request is growing, up 3.7 per cent successful nan first half of this year, but nan summation successful powerfulness from solar, upwind and atomic has easy outpaced that, according to Myllyvirta, who analyses nan astir caller information successful a study published connected nan UK-based Carbon Brief website.

“We’re talking really for nan first clip astir a structural declining inclination successful China’s emissions,” he said.

China installed 212 gigawatts of star capacity successful nan first six months of nan year, much than America's full capacity of 178 gigawatts arsenic of nan extremity of 2024, nan study said.

Electricity from star has overtaken hydropower successful China and is poised to surpass upwind this twelvemonth to go nan country's largest root of cleanable energy. Some 51 gigawatts of upwind powerfulness were added from January to June.

Li Shuo, nan head of nan China Climate Hub astatine nan Asia Society Policy Institute successful Washington, described nan plateauing of China's c emissions arsenic a turning constituent successful nan effort to combat ambiance change.

“This is simply a infinitesimal of world significance, offering a uncommon glimmer of dream successful an different bleak ambiance landscape,” he wrote successful an email response. It besides shows that a state tin trim emissions while still increasing economically, he said.

But Li cautioned that China's dense reliance connected ember remains a superior threat to advancement connected ambiance and said nan system needs to displacement to little resource-intensive sectors. “There's still a agelong roadworthy ahead,” he said.

Power for 5 cardinal households

A seemingly endless expanse of star panels stretches toward nan sky connected nan Tibetan plateau. White two-story buildings emergence supra them astatine regular intervals.

In an area that is mostly desert, nan monolithic star task has wrought a astonishing alteration successful nan landscape. The panels enactment arsenic windbreaks to trim particulate and soil and slow ungraded evaporation, giving vegetation a foothold. Thousands of sheep, dubbed “photovoltaic sheep,” graze happily connected nan scrubby plants.

Wang Anwei, nan power management main of Hainan Prefecture, called it a “win-win” business connected aggregate levels.

“In position of production, enterprises make energy connected nan apical level, and successful position of ecology, writer grows astatine nan bottommost nether nan star panels, and villagers tin herd sheep successful between," he said.

Solar panels person been installed connected astir two-thirds of nan land, pinch powerfulness already flowing from completed phases. When afloat complete, nan task will person much than 7 cardinal panels and beryllium tin of generating capable powerfulness for 5 cardinal households.

Like galore of China’s star and upwind farms, it was built successful nan comparatively sparsely populated west. A awesome situation is getting energy to nan organization centres and factories successful China’s east.

“The distribution of greenish power resources is perfectly misaligned pinch nan existent business distribution of our country,” Zhang Jinming, nan vice politician of Qinghai province, told journalists connected a government-organised tour.

Coal-fired powerfulness plants

Part of nan solution is building transmission lines traversing nan country.

One connects Qinghai to Henan province. Two much are planned, including 1 to Guangdong state successful nan southeast, almost astatine nan other area of nan country.

Making afloat usage of nan powerfulness is hindered by nan comparatively inflexible measurement that China's energy grid is managed, tailored to nan dependable output of ember plants alternatively than much adaptable and little predictable upwind and solar, Myllyvirta said.

“This is an rumor that nan policymakers person recognised and are trying to manage, but it does require large changes to nan measurement coal-fired powerfulness plants run and large changes to nan measurement nan transmission web operates,” he said. “So it’s nary mini task.”