Even in China people are asking questions about how the “carbon neutral” commitment will affect the economy. The fundamental answer to that question lies in China’s development of nuclear energy. China’s ThePaper found part of the answer in the well-known project in the Kubuqi Desert. Located in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, it was once called the “Sea of Death” because of its harsh conditions and the lack of any infrastructure. A Chinese company, the Elion Group, has been working very hard on “greening” the desert. And Chinese companies worked at an early stage with Israeli experts in order to master the technology they had used.
The Elion Group has been working for 33 years in ecological restoration, managing more than 6,00 sq. km of desert. They have created a total of more than 20 million tons of forestry “carbon sinks” and effectively reduced tens of millions of tons of sediment from being washed into the Yellow River each year, and helped 100,000 farmers and herdsmen to shrug off poverty and get rich. The project has also increased the greening rate of the desert from 3% to 53%.
Building a gigantic network of solar panels in the desert provides energy to the surrounding area, but also provides cover over the desert floor under which protection, soil can be developed. Photovoltaic modules can reduce soil moisture evaporation and maintain moisture for crops planted “under board.” In the area which is also shielded by the solar arrays. And where plants start to grow, animal husbandry can also be conducted, with geese or chickens able to roam underneath the solar arrays and find their feed. The solar network construction also plays a major role in sand control. The desert control base of Kubuqi produces 2.55 billion KWh of electricity annually.
