Tongchuan solar project makes the list of UN SDG Good Practices

Tongchuan National-level photovoltaic power generation technology leading base “Photovoltaic +”Loess Plateau Ecological Restoration Project, operated by China Three Gorges Renewables (Group) Co., has recently made the list in the United Nations' 2nd open call for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Good Practices.

"The Loess Plateau is an important part of the cultural cradle of the Chinese nation. Photovoltaic power plants are of great historical significance to the ecological restoration of the Loess Plateau. It creates lots of jobs that help alleviate local poverty. Furthermore, the innovation that is most worthy of scaling-up in the project is that it has created the preliminary prototype of PV plus IoT by building an agricultural system with digital facilities in the greenhouse,” the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs noted in the cases published on the organization's website.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cover 17 goals in economic, social and environmental fields. The SDG Good Practices, initiated by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, is an open call for global outstanding practices in implementing the sustainable development goals. It is reported that there is a total of 464 selected cases from around the globe this time, 29 of which are from China.

Tongchuan, known as coal hub of Shanxi Province, has exported a total of more than 600 million tons of coal, accounting for r 70% of the province's total coal output. To reduce the reliance on the coal resource and go on a green path, Tongchuan faces huge challenge of energy transformation.

The building of Tongchuan solar project, one of the three national leading bases in PV technology approved by the National Energy Administration in November 2017, has helped tackle that problem by providing clean electricity every year. It has an installed capacity of 250 MW and covers an area of about 6.33 square kilometers.

It is an important demonstration project for China to promote the progress of solar power generation technology, accelerate the translation of technological achievements into applications, and adopt smart grid management.