Wild Video Shows Entire Mountain Range in China Covered With Solar Panels
We know from international reporting and economic analysis that China has become a world leader in solar power. The country has pivoted hard to renewable energy in recent years and now has a near-monopoly on global solar energy and panel production.
A video circulating recently on social media highlights the sheer scale of the operation, showing an entire mountain range in the Guizhou province of China blanketed in solar panels. The drone footage reveals a virtual sea of solar panels and access roads stretching as far as the eye can see.
China carpeted an extensive mountain range with solar panels in the hinterland of Guizhou (video ended only when the drone is low on battery byu/uniyk inDamnthatsinteresting
Thanks to its high altitude and moody climate, the mountainous province makes a poor location for industrial agricultural. But those disadvantages also make the province a prime location for solar installations — something the region has embraced in recent decades.
Per China Daily, the provinces' first solar installation went online in 2015, but it was slow going as the nation set about achieving its ambitious renewable energy goals. By 2018, Guizhou was generating about 1.75 million kilowatts in solar energy per year, enough for around 1300 households (for context, the average Chinese household used 1332 kilowatts per year in 2024).
By 2020, Guizhou reportedly reached over 10 million kilowatts in solar capacity, fueled by government subsidies, cheap bank loans for renewable energy companies, and cheap real estate in the province. By 2023, that number reached 15 million kilowatts — and it doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
The Chinese government had previously promised in 2020 to triple its renewable energy output by 2030. It was an ambitious goal, especially as China was the world-leader in coal energy production, a major source of tension for China hawks in the West.
As of 2024, China was responsible for 64 percent of the world's utility-scale solar and wind construction, with 339 gigawatt hours of renewable energy infrastructure under construction. The next four producers, by comparison — the US, Brazil, the UK, and Spain — had a combined total of 72 gigawatt hours of renewable capacity under construction.
If solar infrastructure continues to grow at its current pace, Beijing could hit its renewable energy target as early as this year.
Still, China has a long way to go in its long marathon toward carbon neutrality, something President Xi hopes to hit before 2060. Though national coal consumption continues to decline ahead of schedule, coal power currently makes up nearly 57 percent of China's electrical output.
That said, the country still smokes every other nation in solar energy capacity — proof that projects like the one in Guizhou are more than just clickbait for excited Redditors.
More on China: Tesla Forced to Change Name of "Full Self-Driving" in China, Since Its Cars Can't Fully Drive Themselves
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