Through the construction of a large-scale wind power photovoltaic base project, the desert areas of northwest my country will be transformed into oasis and large-scale clean energy bases, making full use of land resources, improving the economic and social benefits of land management, environmental protection power generation, etc., promoting the coordinated development of the eastern and western regions, and promoting Common prosperity.

Zhou Qiang

Chief Expert of Electric Power Research Institute of State Grid Gansu Electric Power Company

In late December 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the "Notice on Printing and Distributing the List of the First Batch of Large-scale Wind Power and Photovoltaic Base Construction Projects Focusing on Deserts, Gobi and Desert Areas". The list involves 19 provinces in total. 97.05 GW.

Why are the deserts, Gobi, deserts and other regions "favored" by wind power photovoltaics?

Wide area, rich in wind energy and solar energy resources

"Except for Tibet, most of the regions with the best light resources in my country are located in the Three North Regions (Northeast China, North China, and Northwest China). The Three North Regions, especially the Northwest, are also the main areas for the distribution of deserts, Gobi, and deserts in my country. region." said Tang Xiaotang, R&D director of Xi'an LONGi Clean Energy Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as LONGi Clean Energy).

Taking the Taklimakan Desert, the largest desert in my country as an example, its area is about 330,000 square kilometers. Tang Xiaotang believes that if all solar modules are installed in this area, the installation scale can reach 9,900 GW, and the annual power generation can reach 138,600. billion degrees.

It is understood that in 2020, the total electricity consumption of the whole society in China is about 7.5 trillion kWh. Tang Xiaotang said that if a photovoltaic power station is built in the Taklimakan Desert, its annual power generation is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 1.8 China's entire society, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 79.97 trillion tons.

Among the nine clean energy bases in the “14th Five-Year Plan” announced by the state, the four clean energy bases in Xinjiang, the upper reaches of the Yellow River, the Hexi Corridor and the Jizi Bay of the Yellow River are covered with a large amount of desert, Gobi and desertified land. Such areas are rich in wind energy and solar energy resources, have good construction conditions, and are less affected by land use. They can fully combine the power grid and consumption and utilization conditions to comprehensively promote large-scale development and high-quality development of wind power and solar energy.

At the same time, carbon sinks will become an important driving force to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, and increasing carbon sinks through desertification land governance methods will become a practical means to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality.

"This type of area is vast, with abundant wind and solar energy resources, and its technologically exploitable volume accounts for more than 60% of the country's total. Through reasonable planning, it is suitable for the development and construction of large-scale scenery bases." said Zhou Qiang, chief expert of the Electric Power Research Institute of the State Grid Gansu Electric Power Company. .

Zhou Qiang believes that deserts, Gobi and deserts are selected for large-scale wind power photovoltaic base projects. In addition to giving full play to the advantages of abundant wind energy and solar energy resources, good construction conditions, and little impact on land use in these areas, they can also explore and develop wind power photovoltaics in such areas. Sand control, windbreak, grass fixation, ecosystem protection and restoration, build new energy power generation, ecological restoration, help and benefit the people, eco-tourism, desert governance and other multi-integrated circular development models, and improve the adaptability and social benefits of new energy power generation projects Rate.

Experts said that in the western desert areas, exploring the above-mentioned circular development model can improve the comprehensive utilization efficiency of land, help the control of land desertification, turn desertified land into a new energy "blue ocean", and improve the local ecological environment and human settlement environment. At the same time, it can also promote the development of industries in the western region and provide more employment opportunities.

Build a clean energy base and turn the desert into an oasis

"Energy security is an overall and strategic issue related to a country's economic and social development. It is crucial to the prosperity and development of the country, the improvement of people's lives, and the long-term stability of society. To improve energy security capabilities, it is inseparable from a diversified, clean and stable new energy supply system. Qiang Shengfa, deputy general manager of LONGi Clean Energy, told reporters. Vigorously developing wind energy, solar energy and other renewable energy sources is an effective way to reduce my country's economic dependence on international oil and gas and promote energy transformation and upgrading. It is also a key direction for improving energy self-sufficiency in the future.

Qiang Shengfa believes that the country's accelerated construction of large-scale wind power photovoltaic base projects in deserts, Gobi and desert areas will not only help promote the large-scale and high-level development of wind power photovoltaics, but also provide stable and high-quality green power support for economic and social development. my country's energy green and low-carbon transformation.

Sending green power to the eastern and central regions through the UHV power grid can not only realize the complementary advantages of the western and eastern central regions in terms of land resources, green energy, and economic and social development, but also promote investment, stabilize growth, and drive local industries in the western region. develop.

At the same time, with the increase in the proportion of new energy power generation, it will further increase the investment in flexible power supply transformation, system adjustment and operation, and power grid construction in the power system, increasing the cost of system-wide consumption. Through the construction of large-scale wind power photovoltaic base projects, it will help to exert the scale effect, effectively share the development, construction and operation costs, and reduce the cost of electricity prices.

It is understood that under the "dual carbon" goal, the installed capacity of wind and solar will reach more than 1.2 billion kilowatts in 2030. Zhou Qiang believes that through large-scale wind power photovoltaic projects, it is conducive to promoting the large-scale and high-level development of wind power photovoltaic, and accelerating the construction of clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient It provides stable and high-quality green power support for economic and social development, and promotes the realization of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals and the completion of the "14th Five-Year Plan" task.

"More importantly, through the construction of a large-scale wind power photovoltaic base project, the desert areas in northwest my country will be transformed into oasis and large-scale clean energy bases, making full use of land resources, improving the economic and social benefits of land management, environmental protection power generation, etc. Coordinated development of the ministries and regions to promote common prosperity.”