However, large-capacity solar power plants require large tracts of land, which is difficult to achieve in densely populated regions with high electricity demand. 

Mengxi Blue Ocean Photovoltaic Power Station

China aims to solve this with the West-East Power Transmission and Western Development initiative by setting up renewable energy projects in sparsely populated western regions.

As part of this initiative, it has now converted a former coal mining site into its largest single-capacity solar power plant. 

The Mengxi Blue Ocean Photovoltaic Power Station covers an area of 7,000 hectares (70 sq km) and is home to more than 5.9 million solar panels.

By bringing this project online, China estimates that it will stop burning 1.71 million tons of coal every year and reduce its carbon emissions by 4.7 million tons. To achieve the same reduction in emissions, it would have to plant trees covering an area of 62,700 hectares (627 sq km). 

The total project investment is RMB12 billion ($1.65 billion). 

More than just a solar power plant

The Mengxi Blue Ocean Photovoltaic Power Station is also special because it hosts the first large-scale outdoor solar testing base in the Gobi desert, helping China gather more data on setting up solar power plants in challenging environments. 

According to CHN Energy, the project has also used a new rare earth alloy for grounding materials, helping it cut costs by over 40 percent. The large size of the project is also designed to double as a grazing facility for Australian white sheep and chickens, and sand-fixing plants and forage have been planted below the solar panels. 

To minimize the impact on the grassland, the project uses steel foundations for the panels instead of conventional concrete. This enabled the team to reduce the pile diameter from 400 mm (precast concrete) to 100 mm, a press release added. 

The project also achieved a global first by using an integrated design for module-tracker connections. The module’s four sides were fastened and connected to an innovatively designed installation grove to form an integrated module structure. Compared to traditional modules, this saves RMB0.01/ Wp (watt peak), which might seem little but can deliver considerable savings when building a 3 GW plant. 

The facility also uses artificial intelligence (AI) powered solar tracking technology from Arctech for real-time shading avoidance and achieving an energy boost of eight percent, another press release added.

Additionally, it also tailored the post height to maximize space available below the panels so that animals can graze and crops can be cultivated, thereby delivering on the ecological objectives of the project as well.