From Barren Hills to Dual-Use Land
In the height of summer, on Qinghai Province, endless rows of photovoltaic panels stretch like a cobalt sea across the plateau. Beneath them, broad pastures flourish and flocks of sheep graze peacefully, weaving a picture of harmony.
Local herders now ride motorcycles each day to guide their flocks into the solar park. "In the past this land was badly desertified," one herder explains. Formerly, he had to move his animals to winter pastures in the cold months and to summer pastures when it warmed. "Now I can graze my sheep inside the PV park all year round-life is much easier."
In the heart of the Hainan Prefecture on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, the Photovoltaic Industrial Park forms the core of the Hainanzhou Ecological Solar Park. Twenty-one solar plants here have a combined installed PV capacity of 6,244 megawatts (MW) and an accompanying battery storage capacity of 238.9 MW.
"Relatively speaking, this region is sparsely populated and offers vast tracts of inexpensive land," an engineer told reporters. "Moreover, the high-altitude location delivers exceptionally abundant solar irradiation-ideal conditions for large-scale PV generation." Yet PV electricity is inherently intermittent, volatile, and random. To smooth these fluctuations, the company has integrated advanced energy storage into the green-energy chain.
On 2025, the Gongma Energy Storage Station-built, owned, and operated by Qinghai Yellow River-was officially synchronized to the grid. As the dedicated storage facility for the 900-MW second phase of the "Qingyu HVDC" solar project, Gongma is expected to strengthen grid peak-shaving capacity, provide nighttime power support, and ensure stable, continuous export of PV electricity.
"By storing surplus solar power generated during the day, the station sharply reduces PV curtailment and actively participates in grid frequency regulation," the engineer explained. "In practical terms, the batteries absorb the electricity that would otherwise be limited, then release stored 'green power' after sunset so households can use solar energy at night."
According to China's Energy Transformation white paper released in 2023, the country's clean-energy installed capacity reached 1.7 billion kilowatts-58.2 percent of the national total. Over the past decade, more than half of the growth in China's electricity demand has been met by new clean-energy generation, steadily raising the share of "green" electrons in the national energy mix.
conclusion
"Investment in infrastructure-covering energy, transportation, municipal services, and environmental protection-creates a direct link: on one side, it supports the growth our economy needs; on the other, it safeguards and advances people's livelihoods," said one of the project designers. "Through these investments, we are making a positive contribution to the large-scale development of western China, to ecological conservation along the Yellow River Basin, to the local economy of Qinghai, and to ensuring reliable water and electricity supplies for all."