China begins building world’s largest solar power station in Tibet

(TibetanReview.net, May28’23) – Construction on the world's largest photovoltaic (PV) power station project recently commenced in Angduo (Tibetan: Gardo) Township, located in Mangkang (Markham) County of Chamdo City, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), reported China's official globaltimes.cn May 26, citing the project co-developer PowerChina's Chengdu Engineering Co.

It is part of the 2.6 million kW photovoltaic power generation project for the Jinsha River upstream clean energy base, a major engineering project in China's 14th Five Year Plan and a national demonstration base for water and solar integration, noted the seetao.com May 26.

The station, designed with a production capacity of about 1,800 megawatts, will set a number of new records, said the globaltimes.cn report.

It will be the world's largest in terms of capacity, situated at the highest altitude, and will incorporate the most comprehensive ecological and environmental protection measures.

The report said the PV project, located about 45 kilometres from Mangkang County at an altitude of 4,200 to 4,800 metres, is one of the nine clean energy bases under the China's 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25). It is set to realize full capacity grid-connected power generation on Nov 30, 2024.

After completion, the project's annual power generation will reach about 5.4 billion kilowatt hours, which can save about 1.67 million tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3.74 million tons, a big drive in China's double carbon goals while promoting Xizang's economic development, the report added.

"Xizang" refers to TAR, constituting about half of Tibet proper.

The latest PV project will do a great deal to tackle electricity supply shortages, shore up local investment and create more jobs, while helping to further secure power supply for high-speed train development in the region, Zhou Hongchun, a research fellow with the Development Research Center of the State Council, China's cabinet, has said.

While these benefits will no doubt lead to TAR's development, they will also encourage and facilitate greater influx of Chinese immigrants which is seen as important for President Xi Jinping Sinicization of Tibet drive.

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