China to build 'Solar Valley'

Huang Ming

Infrastructure APAC has reported on how China has been developing its renewable energy base for years, but now the country has made a massive investment into solar energy, by planning "The Biggest Solar Energy Production Base in the Whole World" or put more simply, 'Solar Valley'.

Like Silicon Valley in California, Solar Valley will be a dedicated base for clean energy technology. With industrial pollution a big concern in China, Huang Ming, China's 'Solar King' and CEO of Himin Solar Energy, aims to make China the world's no.1 producer of solar energy with 'Solar Valley'

The development , which will be constructed outside of Dezhou, is expected to cost US$740 million and accommodate 100 tenants of whom Himin Solar Energy will be the main tenant.

Speaking to the Washington Post, Huang Ming described the project as a "an experiment. It's a big laboratory."

Solar Valley

Construction plans are already underway with tens of thousands of farmers being moved into concrete apartment blocks, and their land converted into what will become 'Solar Valley', clean-technology answer to California's Silicon Valley.

Plans will see the development include a research center and wide boulevards illuminated by solar-powered lights, as well as factories. Dezhou is already something of a solar hub; last year, municipal authorities spent more than US$10 million to install solar lighting along miles of road. Posters were also put up, cheering low-carbon living.

However, while it is a step in the right direction, China is still a oil and coal driven society and with its economy growing at an exponential rate, there are concerns that Solar Valley won't be enough to counter the country's heavy fossil fuel reliance.

China is still one of the world's biggest renewable energy investors however. Last year, China invested about US$34 billion in solar panels, wind turbines and other alternative energy technologies, nearly twice as much as the United States, where spending fell sharply.

China aims to get 15 percent of its power from renewable energy sources, including hydroelectric dams, by 2020, up from about nine percent now. However, if coal consumption increases at its current rate, generating two-thirds of the country's power, this will cancel out any increase in renewable energy.

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Timon Singh

Timon Singh is a graduate of Liverpool University where he received a degree in Social and Economic History. He has previously worked for BBC Magazines on BBC Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, the publication for the popular genealogy show.

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