"Building a photovoltaic power station in the desert is not easy, and requirement for solar equipment is higher due to the windy and sandy environment in the desert," Miao Ruijun, deputy head of Mengxi New Energy Dalad Photovoltaic Power Station in SPIC Nei Mongol Energy Co, told the Global Times at the site on Saturday.
Miao noted that to better manage running of the station in the desert environment and save personnel needed onsite, it has adopted smart PV solutions provided by Huawei Technologies, including solar inverters, power carrier communication (PLC), intelligent IV diagnosis, as well as intelligent photovoltaic management system.
Overall, the greening area of all deserts is much larger than the degradation area, indicating an overall greening trend of desert vegetation after the PV power stations deployment. From 2011 to 2018, the greening area within the range of PV power stations increased to 30.8 km 2 substantially, with the largest greening area in 2016 (31.9 km 2).
In 2018, MUS had the largest area of PV power stations (30.80 km 2, 30.0%), followed by TenD (29.50 km 2, 28.8%), UBD (11.33 km 2, 11.0%) and HobD (8.14 km 2, 8.0%). Compared with other deserts, these four deserts are located in the central part of north China, and the surrounding areas have a higher level of economic development.
The global primary energy consumption is 1.76 × 10 11 MWh in 2021 (26), which also means that based on the current energy demand, the volume of desert photovoltaic power is able to supply the world with energy. The power supply of deserts in the Middle East, East Asia, Australia, and North America is ranked in sequence.
Solar panels in deserts: the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Seih Al Dahal in Dubai (Photo by Firstsolar) Notwithstanding the enormous promises deserts may hold for solar PV, their general potential is on the other hand limited by quite significant constraints and problems. Let’s have a look at the top 10 challenges:
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