Chongqing - At Wushan County of Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, located in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, a new energy project is bringing new hope to the life of local villagers.
The Three Gorges Reservoir Area has long been a key focus of China's poverty alleviation effort. In 2018, a new energy project, mainly consisting of photovoltaic and wind power, was brought to Wushan County by China Three Gorges Corporation. Currently, the project has entered its sixth year.
The wind turbines at the mountain peak of Liangping Town. (Photo/Wushan County Media Center)
Reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 230,000 tons
According to Xiong Fei, who is in charge of the photovoltaic power station at Liangping Town in Wushan County, the station generates an average of 240 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, with an annual output value of approximately 140 million yuan (about 20.33 million U.S. Dollars), saving about 84,000 tons of standard coal per year and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 230,000 tons.
The new energy project was implemented in Liangping Town and Sanxi Town of Wushan County, where the area has the advantage of the seasonally complementary generation of photovoltaic and wind power, according to China Three Gorges Corporation.
The peak period to generate wind power in the region is from November to April each year, while for photovoltaic power, the peak period is from April to October. This makes cost control of the project attractive, which in turn has the potential to generate economic benefits.
For the entire impoverished area, the project brings villagers a promising way of earning income. A 2019 report by Shangyou News mentioned that Zhou Jidian, once identified as the impoverished in Liangping Town, signed a 25-year land lease contract with the photovoltaic power station and worked there, earning nearly 50,000 yuan a year.
The report further quoted Chen Fengyu, the head of Liangping Town, that the photovoltaic power project has involved more than 460 households in three villages of Liangping Town, with an annual rental income of about 650,000 yuan.
The photovoltaic power station of Xiangya Village in Liangping Town. (Photo/Wang Zhonghu, Chongqing Broadcasting Group)
Agricultural photovoltaic complementary is the future of agriculture
Wind turbines need to be built on mountain peaks where the winds are strong, while photovoltaic solar panels prefer flat terrain with sufficient sunlight.
China Three Gorges Corporation naturally looked to the vast agricultural land around the villages. The company leases agricultural land from farmers to develop power stations, which forms the operating mode of the project. Evidence shows that the project still retains farmers' right to use the land.
According to a report by China News, some of the photovoltaic lands in Liangping Town are used for planting wheat, rapeseed, and other crops. Villagers plant ordinary crops in the gaps between the photovoltaic panels and plant shade-loving crops under the panels.
"Agricultural photovoltaic complementary is the future development trend of agriculture. It combines photovoltaic power generation and agricultural production to achieve 'one site with two uses,'" said Professor Lin Li from the School of Economics at Chongqing Technology and Business University.
"For villagers, we value the wealth creation opportunities that can be obtained from the project," said Wu Zaoqing, director of Xiangya Village in Liangping Town.
The Village has 240,000 square meters of land for photovoltaic power, and they plan to plant Chinese medicinal materials and other crops in the future.
Several types of Agricultural photovoltaic complementary have already been developed around the world, with a wide variety of innovative approaches emerging in recent years that will be a key part of the energy and climate transition. Some popular types involve ground-mounted photovoltaic panels, elevated photovoltaic panels, and solar greenhouses.