On Monday, China connected the largest solar power plant to the power system. Its peak power reaches 5 GW, and it generates up to 6 GW for a year of operation. Now the three largest solar farms in China are located in China: two with a power of 3 GW and one for 5 GW. Analysts note that national transmission lines no longer cope with the distribution of such a large amount of energy.
According to the ambitious plan of the Chinese government, 455 GW capacity on renewable energy sources - solar and wind. Solar stations are built in remote desert areas, from where energy is transmitted to the central and eastern coastal metropolitan areas. This requires the creation of modern power lines with minimal losses. However, scientists do not fully understand the influence of electromagnetic fields of such lines on the ecosystem and climate.
The new solar power plant, connected on Monday, has a capacity of 5 GW and covers an area of 81 thousand hectares near the capital of the Cinzian-Uygursky Autonomous District of Urumchi. According to estimates, the capacity of this power plant will be enough to provide energy of 2 million electric vehicles during the year. For comparison, to provide energy to the entire US car (285 million), if they were electrical, a solar farm in size from Pennsylvania would be required.
Solar power plants have many advantages other than the use of free sun energy. First, they support China's economy. Secondly, they displace fossil energy with its emissions. Third, they rationally use areas that have no other use. For densely populated countries, this is not the best solution, but nothing prevents energy in the deserts and transfer it, for example, to Europe with underwater cables.
