Day: November 17, 2021

NEW YORK, Nov. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Bit Digital, Inc. (Nasdaq: BTBT) (“Bit Digital” or the “Company”), a bitcoin mining company headquartered in New York, announced its unaudited bitcoin production and mining operations update for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021.

Preliminary Third Quarter 2021 Highlights

• We completed our fleet’s exit from China. As of the date of this press release, 100% of our fleet had arrived in North America. As of September 30, 2021, we had no miners remaining in China: 79.1% of our miner fleet was already deployed or awaiting installation in North America, and 20.9% was in transit.
• The Company owned 27,744 miners as of September 30, 2021, with an estimated maximum total hash rate of 1.603 Exahash (“EH/s”). The 0.318 EH/s reduction in the third quarter was due to fleet repositioning, in which the Company sold or disposed of certain models (partially offset by purchases) in anticipation of purchase opportunities. The Company recognized a $0.375 million gain on miner sales, and the net sale proceeds had been reinvested into miner purchases as of the date of this press release.
• The Company purchased 851 miners on the spot market during the quarter.
• Subsequent to September 30, 2021, the Company signed an agreement with Bitmain Technologies Limited (“Bitmain”) to purchase 10,000 Bitcoin miners. The previously announced purchases are expected to increase Bit Digital’s maximum hash rate by approximately 1.0 EH/s. Pro forma for the announced purchases, our maximum total hash rate is expected to be approximately 2.603 EH/s.
• The Company earned 248.36 bitcoins. The reduction from the second quarter was due to the migration program, in which a higher percentage of fleet capacity was offline while in transit to, or awaiting installation in, North America, as well as miner sales and disposals.
• Treasury holdings of BTC and WBTC were 526.1 and 101.0, respectively, for a total of 627.1 BTC equivalent, with a fair market value of approximately $27.5 million as of September 30, 2021.
• The Company raised $80 million of gross proceeds in a private placement with institutional investors.
• The Company announced that Brock Pierce, Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, joined its Board of Directors effective October 31, 2021.

Miner Migration Completed

As a result of the State Council targeting virtual currency mining in China, we terminated all mining operations in China on June 21, 2021. Accordingly, we further accelerated our migration strategy to North America, that had been ongoing since October 2020, and completed our fleet’s exit from China during the third quarter. As of September 30, 2021, we had no miners in China: 79.1% of our fleet was already deployed or awaiting installation in North America, and 20.9% was in transit. As of the date of this press release, 100% of our fleet had arrived in North America.

Power and Hosting Update

During the third quarter, the Company signed two new hosting agreements in the United States, representing 135 megawatts (“MW”) of additional power capacity. Both are expected to be powered by a substantial component of renewable and/or carbon-free energy, contributing to our ongoing efforts to decarbonize our mining operations.

On July 22, we signed a 100 MW agreement with Digihost Technologies (“Digihost”) that is expected to be powered by approximately half renewable and/or carbon free energy sources, subject to finalizing our energy procurement strategy with Digihost. This second agreement brings our total contracted hosting capacity with Digihost to 120 MW. Digihost is expected to deliver the first 20 MW of contracted power capacity during Q4 2021. The remaining 100 MW is scheduled for delivery during the first and second quarters of 2022.

On August 25, we signed a 35 MW hosting agreement with Blockfusion USA (“Blockfusion”) that is expected to be powered primarily from zero carbon emission energy sources.  As of the date of this press release, Blockfusion had completed the first (of four) phases of miner deployments, representing approximately 5 MW of power consumption. The remaining three phases are scheduled for delivery in Q4 2021 and Q1 2022. During the term of our agreement and for twelve (12) months thereafter, Bit Digital has a right of first refusal to match any bona fide offer from a third party to finance or acquire securities and/or assets of Blockfusion, and to receive a credit or refund of certain expenses incurred in the development of infrastructure.

As a result of these two new agreements, as of September 30, 2021, the Company had secured hosting capacity sufficient to complete the redeployment of its fleet in North America, with additional signed capacity to facilitate future fleet growth. The Company continues to evaluate additional hosting arrangements with existing and prospective new hosting partners.

Our hosting partner Compute North LLC (“Compute North”) has advised us that its delivery of 40 MW of hosting capacity that was contracted for during Q2 and anticipated for delivery in Q3 2021 has been delayed. Compute North has not yet determined updated delivery timing for this additional capacity. Pending revised delivery timing, Bit Digital expects to redirect miner deployments to other hosting partners.

Our hosting partner Link Global Technologies (“Link”) has advised us that Link’s facility in Alberta, Canada that had supplied approximately 3.3 MW for hosting our miners was required to discontinue operations as a result of a permitting dispute. Link is currently evaluating alternative sites to accommodate our miners. In the interim, pending further updates, Bit Digital expects to redirect miners formerly hosted with Link to other hosting partners.

The following table summarizes our signed hosting agreements as of September 30, 2021, and expected delivery timing based on communications with our hosting partners:

The following table summarizes our expected hosting deliveries, by quarter:

Pro forma for hosting agreements signed to date, we expect to enjoy a competitive estimated base power and hosting rate of approximately 3.6 cents per kilowatt-hour, on an annualized weighted average basis.The foregoing base power rate therefore is an estimate and relies on certain assumptions, including but not limited to estimated future energy procurement pricing, and excludes the effect of profit sharing arrangements. We achieve what we believe are attractive hosting rates, in part, by offering profit shares to many of our hosting partners. We believe that profit sharing helps align interests with our hosts, and contributes to strong performance and uptime for our hosted miners.

Bitcoin Production Update

In the third quarter of 2021, Bit Digital earned 248.4 newly minted bitcoins, a reduction from 588.4 earned in the second quarter. The reduction was due to the aforementioned miner migration, as well as fleet repositioning in which the Company sold or disposed of certain miners. Bitcoin production is expected to increase following completion of the redeployment of miners migrated from China, which is expected during the first quarter of 2022, and upon completion of announced miner purchases.

The Company’s quarterly bitcoin production since commencement of our mining operations was as follows:

Miner Fleet Update

As of September 30, 2021, the Company owned 27,744 miners, with an estimated total maximum hash rate of 1.603 EH/s, a decrease from 32,500 miners and 1.915 EH/s as of June 30, 2021. The reduction was due to sales and disposals of certain miners, partially offset by miner purchases, as further discussed below. The Company’s fleet of owned miners comprised the following models:

Miner Purchases, Sales and Disposals

During the third quarter, we purchased 851 miners on the spot market, including 400 Bitmain S19Pro and 451 Bitmain S17 models. As of September 30, 2021, all of the newly purchased miners had already been deployed in North America.

Subsequent to September 30, 2021, we signed an agreement with Bitmain to purchase 10,000 Bitcoin miners. The total maximum purchase price is estimated at US $65,000,000 (subject to certain potential discounts), of which the initial installments have been made, with the final installment due ten (10) days prior to each shipment through June 2022. The announced purchases are expected to increase Bit Digital’s miner fleet hash rate by approximately 1.0 EH/s. Pro forma for announced purchases, our maximum total hash rate is expected to be approximately 2.603 EH/s.

The Company anticipates an ongoing opportunity to purchase additional miners, both on the spot market and from manufacturers in the coming months, subject to market conditions and capital availability, and continues to monitor market conditions for such purchase opportunities.

During the quarter, we continued repositioning our fleet by selling 4,200 miners that were deemed to have a lower expected return on invested capital than miners we believe we can purchase, and/or were deemed unsuitable for long-distance migration to North America. The sold miners included 4,000 Bitmain S17 and 200 Bitmain T17 models. The Company recorded a gain of $0.375 million on these sales, in aggregate. The net sale proceeds had been reinvested into miner purchases and/or purchase orders as of the date of this press release.

During the quarter, we abandoned 1,407 miners that were deemed to have reached the end of their useful lives, were no longer operational and/or would have been uneconomical or impossible to repair or migrate. The disposed miners included 611 Bitmain S17+, 301 MicroBT M21S, 252 MicroBT M10, 212 Bitmain T17+ and 31 Bitmain T3 models.

Private Placement Transaction with Institutional Investors

On October 5, 2021, the Company closed its previously announced private placement with institutional investors for the sale of 13,490,728 ordinary shares. The Company also issued to the investors unregistered warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 10,118,046 ordinary shares. The gross proceeds from the private placement were approximately $80 million before deducting placement agent fees and other estimated offering expenses.

Appointment of Director

On September 28, 2021, the Company announced the appointment of Brock Pierce, Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, to its board of directors. Such appointment became effective on October 31, 2021.

Management Commentary

“Bit Digital marks a major milestone for our Company. Our mining assets are now entirely out of China and 100% in North America,” said Bryan Bullett, Bit Digital’s CEO. “It’s unusual that a business is faced with migrating the majority of its operating assets across the globe on an expedited timeline. Thanks to our talented team, partners, and head start, having begun migrating in October 2020, we accomplished a major logistical feat. I’d like to thank the entire Bit Digital team for exceptional performance in executing against these unprecedented circumstances.”

“It’s also unusual that a major economy exits an entire vertical, as China did earlier this year, by banning bitcoin mining. Despite the initial operational complexity – a challenge our team squarely met – we believe the shift in global hash distribution will result in a stronger bitcoin network, with the majority of hash now located here in North America.”

“By closing our recent $80 million equity placement, we illustrated our access to growth capital, and welcomed new institutional shareholders. We thank these institutions for trusting us with their investment.”

“We committed the majority of the placement’s net proceeds within approximately one week, securing 10,000 new Bitmain units on what we believe are attractive terms. And while the accelerated migration prompted us to modestly cull our legacy fleet, we expect this to result in improved profitability, as our purchase activity significantly exceeded the temporary reduction in fleet size since the start of Q3. Pro forma for announced purchases, we expect to have approximately 2.6 EH/s of mining power.”

“Finally, we welcomed to our Board of Directors Brock Pierce, a legendary crypto pioneer who needs no introduction. We believe that with his newly elevated position in the Company, Brock’s vast industry knowledge, relationships, and guidance will be invaluable going forward.”

About Bit Digital

Bit Digital, Inc. is a bitcoin mining company headquartered in New York City. Our mining operations are located in North America. For additional information, please contact Sam Tabar at sam@bit-digital.com or visit our  www.bit-digital.com.

Investor Notice

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and forward-looking statements described under “Risk Factors” in Item 3.D of our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. If any material risk was to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations would likely suffer. In that event, the value of our securities could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties we describe are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. In addition, our past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results in the future. Future changes in the network-wide mining difficulty rate or Bitcoin hash rate may also materially affect the future performance of Bit Digital’s production of bitcoin. Additionally, all discussions of financial metrics assume mining difficulty rates as of September 2021. See “Safe Harbor Statement” below.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release may contain certain “forward-looking statements” relating to the business of Bit Digital, Inc., and its subsidiary companies. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are “forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” or similar expressions, involving known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the company’s periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website at http://www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements attributable to the company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.

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• The chemical yield of nearly 50 percent has reached internationally-advanced levels.
• The technology significantly shortens the production process, lowers production costs and reduces carbon dioxide emissions.
• Sinopec’s next step is to build a million-ton industrial demonstration plant.

BEIJING, Nov. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (HKG: 0386, “Sinopec”) has successfully tested its key project, “Technological Development and Industrial Application of Light Crude Oil Cracking into Ethylene,” this month at Sinopec Tianjin.

The technology converts crude oil directly into ethylene, propylene and other chemical products (“crude-to-chemicals”) and realizes the first industrial application of crude oil steam-cracking technology in China. The milestone is of great significance to the transformation and upgrading of China’s petrochemical industry, also contributing to achieve “dual carbon” goals.

The crude oil steam-cracking technology is one of the “crude-to-chemicals” solutions which “skips” the traditional crude oil refining process to directly convert crude oil into valuable chemical products like ethylene and propylene – analogous to making bread directly with wheat and eliminating the flour grinding process. This approach will greatly shorten the production process, lower production costs and significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.

The technology was developed and engineered by Sinopec’s Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry and Sinopec Engineering Group (SEG) and the industrial testing was carried out at Sinopec Tianjin. It has applied for 45 Chinese patents for invention and one international patent for invention. At present, ExxonMobil and Sinopec are the only two companies to successfully achieve industrial application of crude oil steam-cracking technology worldwide. It’s estimated that for every 1 million tons of crude oil processed by this technology, nearly 500,000 tons of chemical products can be produced, 400,000 tons of which are high-value products such as ethylene, propylene, light aromatics and hydrogen. Overall, Sinopec’s technology has reached an internationally-advanced level and presents huge economic value and potential.

A basic raw material of chemical products, ethylene is coined the “mother of the petrochemical industry,” and is one of the key benchmarks to measure the development level of a country’s petrochemical industry. As people’s living standards continues to improve, the global demand for chemical products is also growing, and as basic raw materials, the demand for ethylene and propylene has also increased accordingly. In general, the raw materials needed for producing ethylene and propylene must go through the crude oil refining process at the refineries, the production process of which is not only longer, but also only 30 percent of the crude oil is used to produce the chemical raw materials.

Sinopec has always emphasized the R&D and application of “crude-to-chemicals” technologies. In April 2021, the catalytic cracking technology of crude oil independently developed by Sinopec’s Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry, another “crude-to-chemicals” solution, also completed industrial application in Yangzhou, which has made China a leader in catalytic cracking of crude oil globally.

Similar to the crude oil steam-cracking technology, the chemical yield of catalytic cracking is also about 50 percent, and combining the two technologies is expected to increase the total amount of chemicals produced by crude oil to more than 70 percent, which will become an economically efficient solution for “crude-to-chemicals” conversion in the future.

Sinopec is preparing to carry out the development and engineering design of packaged technology for the production of ethylene by steam-cracking 1 million tons of crude oil at its Tahe company in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, building an industrial demonstration plant for the direct production of chemicals from crude oil and establishing a new model for the transformation and development of China’s petrochemical industry.

For the large-scale ethylene project planned for the future, the crude oil steam-cracking technology will be included in the key technology comparison and selection scheme, which will provide strong support to relieve the contradiction between supply and demand as well as aiding the enterprises’ transformation and upgrading, making greater contributions to achieving ‘dual carbon’ goals.

For more information, please visit Sinopec.

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القاهرة, 17 نوفمبر / تشرين ثاني 2021 /PRNewswire/ —

تم تصنيف شركة BSH  للأجهزة المنزلية -الشركة الأولى في أوروبا وواحدة من الشركات الرائدة في مجال الأجهزة المنزلية في العالم باعتبارها واحدة من أفضل أماكن العمل في مصر لعام 2021. بعد عام غير مسبوق من التحديات واضطراب مكان العمل مع بداية أزمة كوفيد-19، واصل موظفو BSH الاستمتاع بالعمل في المنظمة، واعتبروا الشركة صاحب عمل رائع.  بالإضافة إلى ذلك، نجحت الشركة في تهيئة ثقافة تدعم قوة عاملة نابضة بالحياة ومتنوعة من الأشخاص ذوي المهارات العالية الذين يعملون معًا لتقديم أفضل المنتجات والخدمات للعملاء في مصر.

أفضل أماكن العمل هو بمثابة برنامج شهادات دولي، يعتبر “المعيار البلاتيني” في تحديد أفضل أماكن العمل في جميع أنحاء العالم والاعتراف بها، مما يوفر لأصحاب العمل الفرصة لمعرفة المزيد حول مشاركة موظفيهم ورضاهم، وتكريم أولئك الذين يقدمون خبرة عمل مميزة تتمتع بأعلى المعايير فيما يتعلق بظروف العمل.

قال لويس أنفاريز، الرئيس التنفيذي لشركة BSH  مصر تهانينا القلبية!! باعتبارك صاحب عمل، يعتبر التزامك بوعودك أفضل ما تقدمه لموظيفك ومرشحيك،  وتعتقدBSH أنها تؤدي عملًا رائعًا في هذا الصدد. بالنسبة لنا، يكمن النمو في فكرة معرفة أن الأشياء الصغيرة يمكن أن تحدث اختلافًا كبيرًا. وهذه الميزة متأصلة في منتجاتنا، ومتجسدة في ثقلفتنا، كما تمكنا من تبني رؤية نقدية للوضع الراهن، يجب أن يتحقق النمو للجميع

كن محبوبًا، كن جريئًا كن صادقًا”

أضاف أحمد رياض، المدير المالي للشركة “ترحيب كبير” يعتبر هذا التقدير شاهدًا على المساهمات الهائلة التي يقدمها فريق عملنا الذي ساعدنا على البقاء في طليعة التحولات التنموية، ويعزز الاعتراف بنا كأفضل صاحب عمل من عزمنا على بناء قادة المستقبل الذين يتمسكون بتقاليد الجدارة في BSH والقيم المتأصلة للنزاهة، والاحترام، والريادة، والمسؤولية، والقيادة الهادفة أثناء العمل وبعده، هذا لا يمثل إلا بداية رحلتنا في قيادةBSH.

أما هبة الشريف، مديرة الموارد البشرية، فقالت: “تخبرنا هذه الجائزة بأننا نفعل الكثير من المهام على الوجه الأمثل كما تخبرنا بالجوانب التي تحتاج للتركيز والتحسين، نحن ملتزمون بنجاح موظفينا، وتطوير ثقافة اختيار مستدامة لصاحب العمل لسنوات قادمة، وقد منحتنا هذه الشهادة تقديرًا كبيرًا، ولكن الأهم، أنها سوف تساعدنا في أن نتفوق على الأفضل بين الجميع.

نبذة عن برنامج أفضل أماكن العمل

 تمثل أفضل أماكن العمل الشهادة الأكثر تحديدًا “لاختيار صاحب العمل”، وهي الشهادة التي تطمح المنظمات في الحصول عليها. ويصادق البرنامج على أماكن العمل الرائدة في العديد من البلدان حول العالم من خلال تقييم الملكية الذي يحلل جاذبية الشركة من خلال عملية من خطوتين تركز على 8 جوانب لمكان العمل. إنضم لمجتمعنا على لينكد إن ,  تويتر و  فيس بوك .

لمزيد من المعلومات، يُرجى زيارة  www.bestplacestoworkfor.org 

للتواصل: ماريا مرسيديس |  maria@bestplacestoworkfor.org  | +44 208 895 6562

The world’s largest renewable energy base showcases how technology can build a healthy planet

SHENZHEN, China, Nov. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — In Chinese, Qinghai means blue waters. Named after Qinghai Lake, China’s largest inland salt lake, Qinghai Province attracted worldwide attention in November 2020 when two 10 million-kW renewable energy bases were completed in the Hainan and Haixi prefectures. We took a trip to the PV power station in Talatan, Gonghe County, 60 km southeast of the lake.

As you travel from the provincial capital Xining to Gonghe County, the steep mountains on both sides of the road gradually recede and the horizon gradually widens. The azure sky, fluffy clouds, verdant hills, and herds of wandering cattle and sheep evoke serenity and peace. The white caps of snow on distant mountains are the only trace of the previous night’s wind and snowfall.

10 years of construction

Prior to 2011, the remote and sparsely populated Gonghe County was relatively unknown. When construction began on the world’s largest renewable energy base, a monumental undertaking given how difficult it was to bring in cranes and equipment, the county bustled into its busiest time ever. The decade also saw the rapid development of auxiliary industries like catering, accommodation, auto repairs, ironware, and construction materials.

This level of activity had only been approached once before – in the 1980s, when the Longyangxia Hydropower Station was built.

September 26, 2020 was a memorable day for both Huawei and energy specialists Huanghe. At 17:18, the last segment of the Qinghai Gonghe 2.2 GW PV power station was connected to the power grid, marking the rollout of a power source that would support the world’s first UHVDC power transmission project to transmit 100% clean power. Gonghe PV power station isn’t just the world’s largest PV power station – it also boasts the shortest completion time of any new energy power plant, taking just one year from bidding to connecting to the grid.

The Qingyu UHVDC power transmission line that the plant supports stretches 1,563 km from Hainan in Qinghai Province to Zhumadian in Henan Province and is capable of lighting up the Central Plains region with 100% clean power.

Both the power station in Gonghe and the province’s wind power plants connect to the power grid, providing capacities of 15.436 million kW in Hainan and 10.12 million kW in Haixi. Each of the renewable energy bases now has a capacity of 10 million-kW.

Ten years ago, China’s inverter market was dominated by central inverters. In 2013, Huawei and Huanghe deployed string inverters in the Golmud PV power station in Qinghai, marking the first time string inverters were installed in a large-scale, ground-mounted PV plant. This broke the dominance of central inverters and spurred new development in the PV industry. In 2014, the two companies launched the smart PV solution based on string inverters to digitalize PV power stations. One year later, Huawei established the Smart PV Joint Innovation Center with Huanghe, which soon developed Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis technology, revolutionizing O&M and slashing LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy).

In 2017, string inverters overtook central inverters to become the mainstream PV inverters. Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis is widely used worldwide today, replacing complex and inefficient manual O&M and inspections and accelerating the arrival of affordable PV. A little spark starts a great fire – Smart PV began by the Yellow River and now the 609- square-kilometer Gonghe PV power station is one of the world’s largest PV power stations, complemented by the 100 MW Demonstration Power Station.

According to Xie Xiaoping, Chairman of Huanghe, the two companies achieved outstanding results due to aligned resources and complementary strengths. A timespan of just ten years saw the development of the world’s first 100% clean energy UHV power transmission line as well as the world’s largest renewable energy base, PV power operator, single PV power station, hydro-solar power plant, and demonstration base.

Powered by Huawei’s digital information technologies, 5G networks, and smart handheld terminals, Huanghe had built the country’s largest centralized new energy control center. With more than 20 million data measurement points, the center centrally manages 34 PV power stations, providing services like big data analysis, remote diagnosis, and real-time maintenance.

Plans are in place for a new PV park spanning 609.6 square kilometers – roughly the land area of Singapore – and a 2,400-square-kilometer wind farm.

By the end of 2020, the renewable resources in Hainan totaled an installed capacity of 18.65 million kW, including 9 million kW of PV power, 5.5 million kW of hydropower, 4.1 million kW of wind power, and 50,000 kW of solar-thermal power.

Folk songs make a return in Talatan

Located in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, Talatan was once a landscape of windswept sand, plagued by drought and overgrazing.

Since 2011, PV power has helped gradually restore the degraded vegetation and revitalize the grassland ecosystem, with solar energy increasing soil moisture and reducing evaporation from the soil’s surface. Local residents herding sheep under seemingly endless rows of solar panels on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a living example of how technologies can coexist harmoniously with nature. The sky is blue, the wilderness is vast, and the wind sings to cows and sheep through the grass.

In just 10 years, Talatan was restored to the way it once was – its green past has time-traveled to the present and the sound of folk songs can be heard again.

On our way to Talatan, Huan Xingsheng, the deputy director of production technology for Huanghe’s PV O&M company, believes that “solar grazing” embodies the nature of this land – and the term is currently being registered as a trademark.

Fifty-year old Duo Goujie lives in Tiegai Town, where he and his wife raise over 550 small-tailed Han sheep, which graze in rich fields nearby.

“Before, there was no fertile grass here. It used to grow in clumps, with sand all over it, just like the kind you see on the roadside. The sheep didn’t like it,” says Duo with a smile.

When first planning for the PV project in Talatan, Huanghe sought ways to deploy PV power stations in a way that would benefit both the natural ecosystem and the PV industry. To absorb the impact of desert wind and sand on solar PV panels, Huanghe sowed pasture seeds around the PV park. The grass inside the park soon grew far higher than the grass outside it.

“The grass grows better because the shelter of the PV panels reduces evaporation from the soil surface, and the water used to clean the PV panels increases soil moisture,” says Huan Xingsheng.

However, this creates new challenges: Grass that grows too tall stops sunlight reaching the PV panels and affects power generation. The grass also catches fire easily when it withers in winter. In 2015, Huanghe migrated 600 sheep into the park. They kept the grass at a certain height so it power generation remained unaffected and life was made far easier for the farmers.

Also in 2015, Huanghe began researching the environmental impact of large-scale PV power stations. It found that their deployment improved soil moisture and vegetation growth, cutting average wind speeds by 41.2% and daily air temperatures by 0.5℃, while improving average daily air humidity by 2.1% and soil moisture by 32% at 20 cm deep.

As a result, Huanghe adjusted the design of the PV supports from 50 cm to 1.2 m above ground. The increased construction costs were offset by signing grazing agreements with local farmers, employing local villagers to help construct and maintain the PV park, and growing cash crops like snow chrysanthemums and Togou grass in the park. The model of jointly benefiting the ecosystem and local people by deploying solar technology has in turn boosted the PV industry, local transportation, construction, and tourism, leading to the development and prosperity of minority groups in the upper Yellow River.

In 2018 in response to the success in Talatan, the State Key Laboratory on Ecological Water Conservation in Northwest Arid Regions set up a branch at Huanghe dedicated to researching the management of areas that, like Qinghai, are arid or have turned to desert.

Supported by the world’s largest renewable energy base, Qinghai’s power grid has achieved several milestones since 2017 for providing uninterrupted green power, achieving 7, 9, 15, and then 30 consecutive days.

On August 16, 2021, it achieved a record 100 days.

Looking out from a 30-meter-high inspection tower is a blue ocean of PV panels that contrasts with Qinghai Lake a short distance away. Today, this land is alive with joy, with more than 5,000 sheep grazing in the park and the sound of singing farmers floating over the grasslands.

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