China invests in colossal photovoltaic farms

This text corresponds to part of the transcription of the report above. Click on the video to watch it in full.

China installs them everywhere, even on the mountains. In a region around Beijing, solar panels cover the reliefs one by one. 1,000 km further on, we see the same phenomenon. Black as far as the eye can see, this time in the desert. In Longyuan, a huge photovoltaic farm was built in record time. “Just two years ago, all around us was the desert.”explains Jun Lu, vice-director of the Ningxia solar farm in Longyuan (China). “We have installed 6 million solar panels there, including 2 million in less than 6 months”he specifies. The electricity is then transported to the Hunan region, 1,700 km away. “We can produce 578 million kWh, which means we can supply 4.5 million homes all year round”Jun Lu said again.

In Longyuan, hundreds of rows are lined up, a symbol of the forced energy transition. This solar farm, the second largest in China, has 6 million panels that rotate and follow the sun. “There, you can see that it moves slowly. Every morning, around 6 a.m., the panels turn towards the east”explains Nan Li, technician at the Ningxia solar farm in Longyuan.

For the director, the most complicated thing is being able to monitor everything: “This surface area is the equivalent of 6,300 football fields. So, we use drones”explains Jun Lu. Drones that spray water to clean facilities after a sandstorm. Drones, again, this time piloted from a control room. They monitor the entire site 12 times a day. “I check that no panel is broken and that all are oriented towards the sun. In our field of activity, China is today the world leader”underlines the vice-director.

Wind power is the other equally ambitious project. Example in a factory in Baotou (China), which three years ago did not exist. Today, it manufactures wind turbines. There are the blades, up to 130 m long. And in a hangar, an alignment of all the other parts; twists, nacelles or hubs. In this factory, the number of wind turbines produced has become very large. “We build around 800 units per year, but we can go up to 1,200”specifies Fei Xu, director of the Ming Yang factory in Baotou.

It takes five days to make a wind turbine. The blades come out of giant molds made of composite materials. Outside, an impressive operation is taking place, a blade twisted in all directions is being tested: “We are carrying out a resistance check for this future model. The test lasts 6 to 8 months. The blade will be twisted more than 4 million times”explains Fei Xu. It must be able to withstand winds of 120 km/h.

China installs as many wind turbines and solar parks as the rest of the world. It promises to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10%, but consumes, and this is a paradox, more and more coal. 60% of the country’s electricity today depends on it.