China: Aging Solar Panels Big Environmental Problem in Coming Years
Elevate Christian Network :: Environmental News
China: Solar plants are relatively short-lived, and the government does not have any retirement plan for them yet. | Image: (news.cn)
China will have the world’s worst problem with aging solar panels in less than two decades, according to a recent industry estimate. Lu Fang, secretary general of the photovoltaics decision in the China Renewable Energy Society, wrote in an article circulating on mainland social media this month that the country’s cumulative capacity of retired panels would reach up to 70 gigawatts (GW) by 2034.
World’s Largest Number of Solar Plants in China
That is three times the scale of the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower project, by power production. By 2050 these waste panels would add up to 20 million tonnes, or 2,000 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower, according to Lu. China currently hosts the world’s largest number of solar power plants with a total capacity of close to 80GW last year, according to the International Energy Agency.
The installation in China is nearly twice the amount of the US. Nearly half of the nation’s total capacity was added last year. Industrial experts have also predicted that new solar farms completed this year will exceed 2016’s record, according to Bloomberg.
This neck-breaking pace was driven by government’s drive to diversify the country’s energy supply structure, which at present relies heavily on fossil fuels such as coal and imported oil. But the solar plants are relatively short-lived, and the government does not have any retirement plan for them yet.
Read the full story…. scmp.com
Aerial view of World’s largest floating solar plant in China
(RT News) China switched on the world’s largest floating solar plant in May 2017. The solar panels spread over the surface of water flooding a defunct coal mining site near the city of Huainan in China’s eastern Anhui province. Built by Sungrow Power Supply, with its full capacity of 40 megawatts, the plant can provide electricity for more than 15,000 homes.
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About Cee Harmon
Cee Harmon is the founder of Elevate Christian Network and Elevate Your Potential Magazine. He enjoys helping people improve the quality of their lives - spirit, soul, and body.
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