(TibetanReview.net, May12, 2018) – China said Mar 10 that it had begun building its largest photovoltaic industrial park in Samdrubze district of Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, with a related project expected to house 2,000 families from poverty-stricken areas. The power from the solar project will be exported to neighbouring countries as well as China.
The park, with an investment of 28 billion yuan ($4.4 billion), will be centered on a 2,000-megawatt solar power plant, with an annual output of 4 billion kWh, and an output value of over 4 billion yuan, China’s official China Daily newspaper May 11 quoted Galsang Nyoidrub, director of the Samdrubze Development and Reform Commission, as saying.
Shigatse, nicknamed as “the city of sunlight”, enjoys average annual sunlight of 3,300 hours, the report cited him as pointing out.
He has said the building of the solar segment will begin at the end of this year. “If everything goes well, the plant will be completed in 2025. Five percent of the annual profit will be used for local poverty alleviation.”
He has said the power generated from the plant will be exported to South Asian countries, including Nepal and India, as well as to East China after transmission lines go up in the future.
He has said the industrial park is located close to an expressway under construction, and near the city’s airport. He has added that the industrial park will also develop ecological agriculture and service industry jobs to generate more employment opportunities.
Two agricultural companies were stated to have already started operations in the park, investing 150 million yuan.
He has said that under construction opposite the photovoltaic industrial park was a “photovoltaic town”, with an investment of 4 billion yuan. He has added that the community will accommodate 2,000 households from poverty-stricken areas, representing the largest relocation project in the region.
“We have already finished 75 percent of the project. Some 1,008 people from 234 households have already moved in, and most are satisfied with their living conditions and employment arrangements,” he has said.
