Transmission towers are under construction at Dalad photovoltaic power base. [Photo/ordosnews.com]

The second phase of the Dalad photovoltaic power base in Dalad Banner of Ordos city in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region was connected to the State Grid and began power generation on Dec 24, according to a report in Ordos Daily.

The Dalad solar power base is in the Kubuqi Desert, the seventh-largest desert in China.

It has a planned total scale of 2 million kilowatts and will cover an area of 1 million mu (666,666.67 hectares), which will make it China’s largest solar power base in a desert.

The construction of the Dalad solar power base has been divided into several phases.

The first phase had a planned scale of 500,000 kWh and began construction on May 29, 2018. It was connected to the State Grid and began power generation on Dec 10, 2018.

A crane lifts power generation equipment in Dalad photovoltaic power base. [Photo/ordosnews.com]

Its annual power generation in 2019 reached 975 million kWh, and the yearly utilization hours reached more than 1,900 hours.

The second phase also had a scale of 500,000 kWh. The National Energy Administration officially approved it on June 14, 2019.

Construction of the project’s second stage started on Oct 12, 2019, and it was ready for grid-connected power generation on June 30.

Once fully operational, it will generate 2 billion kWh of electricity per year and achieve an output value of 620 million yuan.

It will also save 660,000 metric tons of standard coal, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.65 million tons, and reduce dust emissions by 450,000 tons. The project will also effectively reclaim more than 50,000 mu of desert land.

Technicians inspect installed equipment. [Photo/ordosnews.com]