Women at helm of green transition

The 'great photovoltaic wall'

Helping drive the region's green energy push is Qimuge, general manager of Dalad Banner Huida Energy Group, which operates the "great photovoltaic wall". A short distance from the desert greenhouse zone, the photovoltaic base has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's largest single photovoltaic pattern power station.

The site features 196,328 solar panels arranged into the shape of a galloping Mongolian horse.

The complex has 1 gigawatt of installed capacity and generates nearly 2 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity a year, capable of powering hundreds of thousands of homes. Under Dalad Banner's development plan, the total installed capacity is set to reach 60 GW by 2030, alongside the comprehensive treatment of about 133,000 hectares of desertified land.

Qimuge transferred from a government post to her current position at the company in July 2024, with no prior experience in the photovoltaic-plus-sand-control industry. Starting from scratch, she studied desert plant breeding and sandyland water-and-soil regulation, and developed zone-specific treatment plans for conditions ranging from shifting dunes to sand-covered hard ground.

The project model involves panels generating power, growing plants under the panels, raising livestock on site, sand control and soil improvement, and rural vitalization, Qimuge said. The solar panels weaken direct sunlight and reduce soil evaporation. Straw and willow planted in a checkerboard pattern block windblown sand, and native drought-tolerant shrubs act as a multilayered windbreak, she added.

Some 5,300 hectares of desertified land have been treated so far, she said.

With wind prevention and sand fixation acting as a baseline, the photovoltaic composite model lets the desert generate lasting industrial returns — uniting ecological governance, clean energy and specialty planting, local officials said.

Many on-site roles — including panel cleaning, seed sowing and vegetation maintenance — are taken up by local women, continuing the region's long-standing tradition of female environmental stewardship, they added.

"Relying on the photovoltaic sand-control project for stable income increases, women also gain more say in family production and life," Qimuge said.