Milestone in the Tibetan desert: the largest solar plant in the world gets grass to grow where 20,000 sheep graze

On the Tibetan Plateau, at high elevation and in one of China’s driest regions, a massive energy project has triggered an unexpected phenomenon. What was once barren sand is now covered with tall grass, and more than 20,000 sheep graze across the landscape. All of this is taking place around what is widely regarded as the world’s largest solar power plant, a photovoltaic complex that has reshaped both the environment and the livelihoods of people in the region.

A massive energy project

Developed in Qinghai Province by a subsidiary of State Power Investment Corporation, the project covers more than 230 square miles, an area comparable in size to the White Sands National Park. The facility consists of more than 7 million solar panels and includes over 60 independent operators within the same site.

Its estimated generating capacity is approximately 21 gigawatts, roughly equivalent to the output of fifteen conventional nuclear power plants. The facility produces more than 18,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, placing it among the most ambitious energy infrastructure projects in the world.

Beyond its energy output, however, scientists and environmental experts have been particularly intrigued by the indirect ecological changes the project has produced. Just three years after installation, the previously dry and desert-like terrain began supporting abundant vegetation beneath and between rows of solar panels. According to findings from several studies, this transformation is the result of a combination of factors.

Life returns to the desert

The solar panels act as a barrier against the region’s constant winds, reducing soil erosion. In addition, water used to clean the panels drips onto the sandy ground, increasing moisture levels in soil that is composed of approximately 98 percent sand.

The panels also provide shade, lowering ground temperatures and reducing water evaporation by roughly 30 percent. Together, these effects have created an artificial microclimate beneath the installation.

This new environment has allowed vegetation to grow densely enough to support livestock grazing. In fact, grass growth became so extensive that the solar farm’s operators introduced thousands of sheep to keep it under control and prevent the vegetation from shading the photovoltaic panels.

To accommodate this arrangement, the supporting structures were raised higher above the ground, allowing animals to graze freely beneath the panels.

Each year, from June through October, herders from approximately twenty villages across the region bring more than 20,000 sheep to the site, where they can feed at no cost across the vast grazing area. The company that manages the solar farm benefits from natural vegetation maintenance, while local communities gain access to a valuable new pasture that previously did not exist.

Annual grass production in the area is estimated at about 121,000 tons. This remarkable outcome has turned the site into a leading example of what some experts call “photovoltaic eco-grazing,” a model in which renewable energy generation and agricultural activity successfully coexist on the same land.

The phenomenon has even reached the marketplace, with the region now selling canned meat products made from what have popularly become known as “solar sheep.”

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