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China to build world's largest solar power plant
mongabay.com
November 21, 2006


China plans to build the world's largest solar power station in the northwestern province of Gansu according to a report from Xinhua, China's state news agency.

Construction of the 100 megawatt facility will take five years and cost 6.03 billion yuan ($766 million). The plant will be located in Dunhuang, a city of 100,000 near Mongolia.

The Chinese government, which is increasingly concerned with the environmental and human health costs of rapid economic growth fueled by coal burning, has recently set ambitious renewable energy targets -- calling for a three-fold increase in power generation from renewable energy sources by 2012 and invested billions in renewable energy technologies including wind, solar, and biofuels.

Solar power in Xinjiang, western China.

According to the Wall Street Journal, mainland China's wealthieast man, Shi Zhengrong, earned his fortune from the sales of photovoltaic equipment used to convert sunlight into electricity. Chinese demand for such equipment is expected to grown significantly in coming years.

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This article includes a NASA news release.

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