Photo taken on Aug 18, 2017 shows red rock area of the Qaidam basin in Haixi province of northwest China's Qinghai province. In addition to abundant hydropower and geothermal energy, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is rich in solar and wind energy resources. The plateau is responsible for 45.6 percent and 38.5 percent of China's potential for solar and wind energy.
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The researchers from the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing University, China Agricultural University, Tsinghua University, and other institutions used high-resolution and accurate data of solar radiation and wind speed to assess the potential of solar and wind energy resources on the plateau.
The data shows that the annual potential of solar and wind energy on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is 8.75 billion kWh and 2.1 trillion kWh, equivalent to 8.75 billion tons of carbon dioxide emission reduction every year, considering land constraints.
The study also found that the Qaidam Basin in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with its solar and wind energy potential estimated to be 5.7 trillion kWh and 0.9 trillion kWh per year, is suitable for large-scale development of solar and wind energy.
With the decline in the cost of photovoltaic, wind power and energy storage systems, and the construction of ultra-high voltage power transmission networks, China's renewable energy base could be built in the Qaidam Basin, according to a study published in the journal Science Bulletin.