Desert sunshine provides clean power

A vast barren desert in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, with its abundant sunshine, has become a base for photovoltaic power generation.

The first phase of the solar power station in the Kubuqi Desert was delivering the equivalent of an annual output of 1 billion kilowatt-hours to the national power grid as of the end of 2018, said Li Rui, director of the development and reform department of Dalad Banner, where the station is based.

Along with its push to improve the power system, it's also a powerful engine to improve the environment, Li said, adding that "the solar energy is expected to reduce annual emissions of carbon dioxide by 200,000 metric tons and dust by 800,000 tons".