One of China’s greatest advantages is its size. The solar farm we visited in the northern province of Ningxia covers more than ten thousand hectares, an area equivalent to the size of the city of Bristol. Panels stretched as far as the eye could see.
Having the ability to transform vast landscapes into green power plants, has turbocharged China’s output from renewables. For the first time this year the combined capacity of wind and solar overtook coal capacity, a target met five years ahead of schedule. The country’s emissions fell by one percent, a small but significant turnaround for the world’s biggest polluter.
In another first, China became the only country in the world to have one million megawatts of installed solar power and nowhere else is close to reaching that capacity.
The Baofeng solar facility we visited was constructed off the ground so a goji berry plantation could be housed beneath the panels. Giving the land a dual purpose and providing more jobs for the local community. On the day we were there, dozens of workers were tending to the trees, and picking the berries, which are considered a superfood.
It also has the distinction of being built by one of China’s biggest coal producers but when I spoke to the Vice President Liu Yuanguan, he told me not to expect a phasing out of coal any time soon. He said the country still needs coal; they just need to find a way to reduce its harmful waste.
In Beijing polluted days are becoming fewer but not quite a thing of the past. At this time of year when the centrally controlled heating starts to come on, we still endure a handful of smoggy days. An improvement from the weeks on end we’d routinely experience last decade, but a reminder that this is a country that still needs fossil fuels to meet its energy demands and the reason why it remains the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
But China now also reigns supreme as the biggest producer of solar panels, electric vehicles and wind turbines, and by a huge margin. Eighty percent of the world’s solar panels come from China, more than half of EV’s and around sixty percent of wind turbines are Chines made.
It comes from a government strategy shifting the country’s manufacturing might from traditional industries to green technologies.
We were invited to see the international production base of Goldwind, China’s leading wind turbine company. Four of the top five turbine suppliers in the world are Chinese, and Goldwind is number one. It has recently secured wind-farm projects in oil rich nations like Saudi Arabia and Oman.
And it’s not just turbine production that China dominates, it’s the core components too. Everything from the gearboxes to the mouldings comes from Chinese suppliers. As do the rare earth elements which make the magnets, that actually coverts the mechanical energy into electricity.
The International Chairman of Goldwind, Wu Kai, will be travelling to the COP30 summit in Brazil to deliver a speech. The company hopes to promote a global vision for green energy technologies, building a community with a shared interest in the future of mankind. They have recently opened their first manufacturing base in Brazil, South America fast becoming a key growth area.
Whether by design, or fortune, China appears to have aligned its environmental targets with its economic ambitions. A convergence that could help the whole world breathe a little easier.