The the sunis full of energy. And China is capitalizing.
Images captured by two the earth-Observing satellites operated by the US Geological Survey revealed the rapid expansion of solar farms in the Kubuki Desert, a remote northern Chinese region.
“The construction is part of China’s multi-year plan ‘The Great Wall of the Sun’ designed to generate enough energy to power Beijing,” writes NASAEarth Observatory of (For reference, although not all of this energy would directly power the Chinese capital, Beijing is home to about 22 million people; that’s two and a half times the population of New York City.)
The two Landsat satellite images below show a section of the Great Solar Expansion between 2017 and 2024. Use the slider tool to reveal the changes. (For reference of size and scale, the images below are about 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles, across.)
Mashable light speed
left:
December 20, 2017
Credit: USGS/NASA
Right:
December 8, 2024
Credit: USGS/NASA
And the solar complex is still growing. It will be 250 miles long and 3 miles wide by 2030. According to NASA.
However, China’s energy mix is still there Fossil fuel dominance – Coal, oil and gas comprise 87 percent of its energy supply by 2022 – the nation clearly sees value in expanding renewable energy.
“By June 2024, China leads the world in operating solar farm capacity 386,875 MWAccording to the Global Energy Monitor, represents about 51 percent of the global total Global Solar Power Tracker” NASA explained. “The US is second with 79,364 MW (11 percent), followed by India with 53,114 MW (7 percent).
Energy experts say that solar energy, like wind, is a An important part of the energy supplyBecause they are renewable and have been shown Reduce energy costs. Fossil fuels, of course, still play a major role in the energy mix of most states today.
But the solar economics are clearly there. The proof, via US satellites, is in the Kubuki desert.
