Inner Mongolia's sun to help power nation

Eight national wind and solar energy centers have been greenlighted in the region, and five more major centers are in the final stages of examination and approval. Together, they represent an installed capacity of about 32.1 million kilowatts.

In the Kubuqi Desert, for example, workers are busy setting up frames to accommodate solar energy modules as they forge ahead with the construction of the largest center in the country combining solar energy generation and desertification control.

Capable of reducing wind speeds by 1.5 meters per second, the project will also help lower the evaporation rate, and so apart from generating 4 billion kilowatt-hours of green electricity a year, it will help turn the desert into cultivated land, said Qu Yuwen, who heads the project.

"The region will prioritize developing wind and solar energy centers in deserts and wasteland," said Chen Zheng, deputy head of the Inner Mongolia Energy Administration. "It will coordinate efforts to enhance its ability to guarantee national energy security and promote a green, low-carbon transition."