Neuralink implants hope to communicate between synapses in the brain after a spinal cord injury. With some hope in mind there, we know that spinal cord injury remains one of the most challenging neurological conditions to treat, largely because damage continues to worsen long after the accident.

Secondary injury processes caused by inflammation, and cell death—creates a hostile microenvironment that blocks neural regeneration in the immune system. Chinese medicine might provide some relief say researchers from China after a new study on ancient medicine pairings.

Current clinical strategies for spinal cord treatments focus on surgery, rehabilitation, and limited pharmacological interventions, and of course stem cell treatments and Neuralink which is a hopeful front, but in practice long-term functional recovery is often minimal. Many experimental therapies fail because they target only one aspect of this complex pathology.

As growing evidence suggests that multi-target regulation is essential for meaningful repair. In a study in Precision Clinical Medicine, Chinese researchers investigated whether a synergistic natural drug-pair approach could improve recovery after severe spinal cord injury.

In the study, the scientists didn’t just test one plant compound at a time. They tested two traditional Chinese medicine compounds together — luteolin (from flowers like honeysuckle and chrysanthemum) and astragaloside IV (from astragalus root, Huang Qi). These plants have been combined in Chinese herbal formulas for centuries to help the body recover from injury and inflammation. So in a sense, the researchers were testing a modern, purified version of an ancient Chinese herbal pairing.

When they compared treatments, each compound alone helped only a little. But when they used both together, recovery after spinal cord injury improved much more. The combination reduced inflammation and oxidative stress while also supporting nerve survival and regrowth. Rats that received the paired treatment regained more movement, and their spinal cords showed less damage and scarring.

So the key idea is this: instead of inventing a brand-new drug, the scientists essentially tried a traditional Chinese medicine recipe principle — combining a restorative herb (astragalus/Huang Qi) with an anti-inflammatory flower compound (luteolin-rich herbs). Modern lab tests then confirmed what traditional practice long suggested: healing complex injuries often requires multiple plant compounds working together, not a single isolated molecule.

“Spinal cord injury is not driven by a single pathological process, so it is unlikely that a single-target drug can achieve meaningful recovery,” said one of the study’s senior authors. “What makes this strategy compelling is the way these two compounds complement each other—one strongly counteracts oxidative stress, while the other supports neural protection and regeneration. By working together, they create conditions that are far more favorable for repair. This study provides a strong rationale for exploring synergistic, multi-component therapies in the treatment of complex neurological injuries.”

The study offers important insights for the future design of spinal cord injury therapies. By demonstrating that a carefully selected drug pair can outperform single-compound treatments, it supports a shift toward multi-target strategies for neurological repair.

Although the current findings are based on preclinical models, they lay the groundwork for developing safer, more effective combination therapies that may reduce reliance on high-dose steroids or invasive interventions. Beyond spinal cord injury, this synergistic approach could inform treatment strategies for other neurodegenerative and traumatic conditions where oxidative stress and inflammation play central roles, advancing the broader field of regenerative and precision medicine.

The lead scientist on this study is Wei Lin, from the Department of Orthopedics at the Traditional Chinese Medicine–Western Medicine Hospital of Cangzhou and the Hebei Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine in Osteoarthrosis Research in Cangzhou, China.

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Why China’s “Artificial Sun” Density Breakthrough Matters

Nuclear fusion is often described as the holy grail of clean energy: a process that could one day provide abundant power without carbon emissions or long-lived radioactive waste. It has so much promise, but it’s difficult. This article on fusion explains why. But turning fusion into a practical energy source depends on solving a set of extremely difficult physics problems. One of the most important is how to keep plasma — a super-hot, electrically charged gas — dense, stable, and confined long enough to produce useful energy.

In January 2026, researchers working on China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), often called the “artificial sun,” reported a breakthrough in this challenge in Science Advances. Their experiment showed that plasma could operate at densities 30% to 65% higher than EAST normally achieves — beyond a long-standing boundary known as the Greenwald density limit — while remaining stable. They reported their breakthrough in the journal Science Advances. Their plasma burned 5 times hotter than the sun.

Why does density matter? Fusion reactions become more efficient when more particles are packed into the plasma. High density is essential to meeting the Lawson criterion, the basic condition for producing more energy than the reactor consumes. For decades, however, increasing density has usually caused plasma to become unstable and suddenly collapse, ending the experiment.

The EAST team overcame this by using a carefully designed start-up method that combines traditional electrical heating with electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH), a microwave technique that warms electrons directly. They also adjusted the amount of neutral gas in the chamber before ignition. Together, these changes allowed the plasma to enter what scientists call a “density-free regime,” predicted by a recent plasma-wall self-organization theory.

Burns 5 times hotter than the sun

In simple terms, this means the plasma and the reactor walls interacted in a way that reduced harmful impurity radiation — one of the main causes of instability. With fewer impurities cooling the plasma, the system could tolerate much higher densities.

The experiment achieved line-averaged electron densities up to 1.65 times the standard operating range of EAST. Importantly, the results matched theoretical predictions, strengthening confidence in the underlying physics model.

This does not mean fusion power plants are now close to commercial operation. EAST did not produce net energy from fusion, and many engineering and materials challenges remain. However, the study demonstrates that a fundamental limitation in tokamak operation may be more flexible than once believed.

For the public, the importance is simple: every improvement in plasma stability and density brings fusion researchers closer to designing reactors that could one day operate continuously, efficiently, and safely. This work shows that the “rules” of fusion confinement are still being rewritten — and that progress is coming from careful physics, not science fiction.

If you are a science geek, you can read all about it here.

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At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, scientists delivered another stark update: global fossil-fuel emissions are set to rise yet again this year. But for the first time, there are credible signs the world may be nearing a turning point. The timing of that peak — and what happens afterward — will depend largely on one country: China.

According to new data released by the Global Carbon Project on 13 November, emissions from fossil-fuel burning and cement production are projected to rise by 1.1% in 2025, reaching 38.1 billion tonnes of CO₂. That represents yet another record high.

Overall greenhouse-gas emissions — which also include methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases — are still climbing. Yet scientists at COP30 stressed that emissions growth is slowing, and that a peak could emerge within the decade. As Bill Hare, physicist and head of Climate Analytics in Berlin, put it: “We don’t [project] the global inflection point until around 2030, unfortunately, but it does look like emissions are flattening off.”

Some researchers argue that the world may already be entering the early stages of decline for CO₂ specifically. The Global Carbon Project notes that overall carbon emissions could fall slightly in 2025 if a projected drop in deforestation and other land-use changes holds. But researchers caution that it is still “too early to say that the world has turned a corner on its fossil-fuel addiction.”

Emissions today are roughly 10% higher than when the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015 — far from where they need to be to limit warming to 1.5°C. Major industrialized countries, responsible for the bulk of historical emissions, have been reducing their emissions for more than two decades. But emissions are rising nearly everywhere else, especially across low- and middle-income countries that are growing their economies and expanding energy access.

China is the deciding factor

No country shapes the global emissions trajectory more than China. Over the past two decades, China has become the world’s largest emitter and now accounts for almost one-third of global greenhouse gases. The main driver is coal: China burned nearly 2.3 billion tonnes of it last year, according to the International Energy Agency in a Nature recap.

Yet China, conversely, is also the world leader in clean-energy deployment — wind, solar, and electric vehicles — and has committed to reducing overall greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 7% from peak levels by 2035. Hare predicts that when China’s emissions peak, global emissions will peak as well.

So are we in a good place?

A growing number of analysts believe that moment may have already arrived. Data from Carbon Monitor, which tracks daily emissions, suggests China’s carbon emissions peaked in 2024 and will fall by 1.2% this year. Researchers at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) report a similar downward trend.

According to Zhu Liu, an Earth-systems scientist at Tsinghua University, the biggest driver of the current decline is the collapse of China’s real-estate market, which has slashed demand for cement and steel. (See the problems of concrete and cement here) Clean-energy deployment is accelerating as well. China’s impact on other nations such as Ethiopia are also clear. Massive neighborhoods around Addis Ababa were built with cement and then abandoned. “I would say this is the peak of China’s carbon emissions,” Liu says.

Related: inflatable concrete homes made sustainably

China isn’t known for its accuracy in anything, certainly not the news. To win global favor and expanding trade agreements in EVs for instance, China will need to learn to be a bit more like the west. Countries that have bought Chinese EVs, for instance, understand they are a security risk as the Communist party can collect data and information about the drivers and the roads with the flip of a switch.

Over the years, the concerns of China spying have led to a wave of proposed bans and new rules on devices such as DJI drones, with US lawmakers and agencies worried that they could send sensitive information to China or be used for spying. The biggest push to ban DJI comes from the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

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In 2012, Green Prophet sounded the alarm about depleted Gulf fish stocks and weak enforcement in Dubai. Revisit Tafline Laylin’s original piece here: Dubai Finally Gets Serious About Overfishing.

Thirteen years on, what’s changed—and what hasn’t? Regulatory frameworks are clearer. The UAE now requires licences for commercial and recreational fishing and sets rules on species, sizes, seasons, and gear. See the official portal: Regulating fishing practices (UAE).

Marine protection and monitoring have expanded. Authorities report more scientifically informed monitoring and new research capacity,including offshore survey capability and support vessels for fisheries and habitat assessment (overview at Life Below Water – UAE.)

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Germany has announced a landmark strategy to break its near-total dependence on Chinese-made components for offshore wind turbines, particularly the permanent magnets essential to the industry. This move, unveiled by the Economy Ministry, forms part of a broader plan to build a more resilient and geopolitically secure renewable energy infrastructure. The Resilience Roadmap aims for 30 percent of permanent magnet supply to come from alternative sources by 2030, increasing to 50 percent by 2035. China currently supplies about 90 percent of these components globally, mostly through its dominance in the rare earth metals market.

Related: China and Russia building a nuclear power plant and base on the moon

To meet its ambitious climate and energy goals, Germany is targeting an offshore wind capacity of 30 gigawatts by 2030—triple its current levels. Offshore wind already contributes around 5 percent of Germany’s electricity supply, and the government hopes renewables will account for 80 percent of national electricity production by the end of the decade. The shift away from China is not merely about energy diversification; it represents a strategic reshoring of the energy transition and a rejection of supply chains vulnerable to geopolitical risk.

This German announcement fits into a broader European trend. Across the continent, governments are accelerating investment in clean technology, aiming to secure domestic manufacturing capacity and reduce exposure to international bottlenecks. The global cleantech market, valued at approximately $916 billion in 2024, is projected to double to $1.84 trillion by 2030, with an annual growth rate of nearly 13 percent. In the European Union alone, clean energy investments are expected to reach nearly $390 billion in 2025.

Related: Chinese submarine finds rare life in deepest ocean trench

Venture capital trends in the EU’s cleantech sector reflect the momentum. After a slow start to the year, venture funding rebounded in the second quarter of 2025, reaching €2.5 billion—the strongest quarterly performance since early 2024. The average deal size has also grown, reflecting increasing investor confidence in scale-up technologies and manufacturing. While early-stage funding remains cautious, the appetite for industrial decarbonization and infrastructure-linked technologies is clearly rising.

Policymakers are backing this momentum with sweeping industrial legislation. Under the EU’s Net-Zero Industry Act, passed in June 2024, the bloc aims to produce at least 40 percent of its annual net-zero technology needs domestically by 2030. The act also sets a target for Europe to produce 15 percent of the world’s clean-tech equipment by 2040. However, this ambition comes in response to a stark reality: Europe’s share of global wind turbine manufacturing fell from 58 percent in 2017 to just 30 percent in 2022. Solar panel manufacturing remains even more concentrated outside the continent, despite EU efforts to reshore production.

In terms of deployment, Europe is making strong progress. In 2024, renewables supplied nearly half of the EU’s electricity, with wind and solar leading the charge. Solar photovoltaic capacity alone reached around 269 gigawatts by the end of 2023, and the EU is targeting 600 gigawatts by 2030. The Clean Industrial Deal, launched earlier this year, promises to push 100 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity annually through 2030, while also funding green innovation and supporting the transition of energy-intensive industries.

Germany’s strategy to secure its wind industry against supply shocks highlights a key shift in clean-tech policy. While markets once favored the cheapest global supplier—often China—the future is likely to reward regional resilience, strategic partnerships, and closed-loop value chains. Germany is already in talks with Japan and Australia to source rare earths more sustainably and with less environmental and political risk.

As the EU mobilizes hundreds of billions of euros to decarbonize its economy, challenges remain. Permitting delays, rising material costs, and global competition for critical minerals could still slow the pace of change. Yet Germany’s move to de-risk its offshore wind supply chain is an unmistakable signal: in the energy transition, security and sustainability must go hand in hand.

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Our ancestors had wisdom we are quick to ignore when we eat industrialized, dead food. People from the not so distant past used to eat fermented foods with every meal, and they are called probiotics. Fermented foods are often sour, but are not pickled with vinegar, rather they ferment and age with the help of yeast and organisms in the air. A new Chinese study finds that fermented foods and eating them, can probably help you get a better night sleep.

Famous ferments from China

Other globally recognized probiotic-rich foods include kefir, tempeh, natto, kombucha, miso, kimchi, and sauerkraut, all of which support gut health through natural fermentation.

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People who consume more ultra-processed foods—such as packaged snacks, sugary cereals, and hot dogs—may be more likely to show early warning signs of Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study published May 7, 2025, in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The research doesn’t prove that ultra-processed foods cause Parkinson’s, but it does suggest a strong association.

Related: Parkinson’s in Arab communities connected to pesticides

Researchers focused on prodromal Parkinson’s disease—the earliest phase of the condition, when neurodegeneration has begun but hallmark symptoms like tremors or slowed movement haven’t yet appeared. These subtle warning signs can develop years or even decades before a formal diagnosis.

“Eating a healthy diet is crucial as it has been associated with a lower risk of neurodegenerative diseases, and the dietary choices we make today can significantly influence our brain health in the future,” said lead author Xiang Gao, MD, PhD, of the Institute of Nutrition at Fudan University in Shanghai, China.

“There’s growing evidence that diet might influence the development of Parkinson’s disease. Our research shows that eating too much processed food, like sugary sodas and packaged snacks, might be speeding up early signs of Parkinson’s disease.”

The study followed 42,853 people with an average age of 48 for up to 26 years. None had Parkinson’s disease at the start. Over time, participants underwent medical exams and completed detailed health questionnaires. Researchers assessed for early signs of Parkinson’s, such as rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, loss of smell, depression, daytime sleepiness, and impaired color vision.

Participants also kept food diaries every two to four years, noting their consumption of ultra-processed foods. These included items like soda, chips, condiments, packaged desserts, and processed meats. One serving equaled a standard portion, such as one soda can or one hot dog.

After adjusting for lifestyle factors like age, smoking, and exercise, researchers found that people who ate 11 or more servings of ultra-processed food per day were 2.5 times more likely to show at least three early signs of Parkinson’s, compared to those who consumed fewer than three servings daily.

The trend held across most individual symptoms—except constipation. “Choosing to eat fewer processed foods and more whole, nutritious foods could be a good strategy for maintaining brain health,” said Gao. “More studies are needed to confirm our finding that eating less processed food may slow down the earliest signs of Parkinson’s disease.”

Fermentation expert Sandor Katz who has helped maintain his health and living with HIV using fermented foods says there is no silver bullet solution: While fermented foods can help, that’s only part of the solution: “I share your perspective that people would be healthier if they moved away from ultra-processed foods. I also believe that fermented foods can improve digestion, immune function, and even mental health. However, it is misleading to suggest that fermented foods cure HIV, Parkinsons, cancer, or any other particular disease,” he warns.

One limitation: participants self-reported their dietary habits, which may have introduced inaccuracies in measuring how much processed food they truly ate.

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In the quiet suburbs of Everett, Washington, a small private company is building what could be the most important machine on Earth. Its name is Helion Energy. Its mission? Nothing less than bottling a star—and lighting up our future—clean, limitless, and faster than China.

Helion is developing a magneto-inertial fusion technology to produce helium-3 and fusion power via aneutronic fusion, which could produce low-cost clean electric energy using a fuel that can be derived exclusively from water. Green Prophet’s Brian writes here: What is fusion and why is it so hard?

While the world scrolls TikTok and argues about AI doom scenarios, a real technological arms race is unfolding: Who will master fusion energy first—and rewrite the next century’s economic and political order? If Helion succeeds in its mission it might also put terrorists out of business.

Helion Energy thinks they have the answer. And they have AI on their side.

Fusion at the Speed of Algorithms

Unlike mega-government projects like Europe’s ITER, which has been famously “30 years away” for 30 years, Helion is running on Silicon Valley speed. Their weapon of choice is magneto-inertial fusion, squeezing plasma with magnetic fields instead of building reactors the size of cathedrals. Here’s where AI comes in.

Helion’s plasma accelerators generate a storm of complex data—magnetic fields, particle velocities, temperatures over 100 million degrees. Too much for any team of humans to control in real-time.

Instead, Helion uses machine learning to tweak and optimize reactor operations pulse-by-pulse. Every shot teaches the system something new: how to better confine the plasma, adjust the magnetic fields, prevent instabilities, and reach the holy grail of energy gain—producing more energy than it consumes. In 2021 cleantech blog Canary Media asked if VCs were throwing $500 million at science fiction. Let’s see who has the last laugh.

Without AI, we’d still be waiting for fusion in 2080?

With AI, Helion is betting on delivering grid-ready fusion electricity as soon as 2028, through a historic deal signed with Microsoft. If they succeed, it would mark the first time in history that humanity pulls useful electricity directly from fusion reactions—the same reactions that power our sun.

The Real Race: Helion vs. China

But it’s not just a scientific experiment. It’s a race—and the finish line could define the balance of world power for centuries. China’s state-backed fusion programs, like the EAST “artificial sun” project, are pushing hard, using their own AI systems to optimize plasma confinement. Their fusion reactors are holding plasma steady for record-breaking periods, and they aren’t slowing down.

In a recent warning, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said that leadership in clean energy—including fusion—will define who leads global economies, militaries, and industries in the 21st century. Like the Ukraine and Russian war upended the world –– and it was over energy imbalance –– whoever wins fusion will no longer be dependent on fossil fuels—and will hold the power to cripple rivals who still are.

Oil Powers Beware: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Iran on Notice

If fusion becomes cheap and reliable, it will collapse the global demand for oil and gas. All these mega projects and oil-funded terrorist activities in Iran, in Yemen, in Syria and in Lebanon, will end. Saudi Arabia is signing the Abraham Accords with Israel to join the wave of the west and the United Arab Emirates is already there. Oil nations know that the demand for oil is temporary. A giant shift in energy acquisition will change the game for good.

Terror groups that thrive on petrodollar-funded instability—from Hezbollah to ISIS and beyond—would find their cash flow cut off. Countries that are developing on nations without restraint (read our latest on the Seychelles and Qatar) will be cut off from the flow of funds and wealth. Without oil as leverage, authoritarian regimes built on energy riches would face either collapse—or painful transformation. We see that Saudi Arabia is opening up to the world in archaeology, development, tourism. And this will protect its survival of a nation.

In simple words if fusion energy works, is not just about lighting up your house. It’s about turning off the money tap that funds wars, terrorism, and dictatorship.

Helion’s Big Bet

Helion’s model plays to America’s old strength: innovation through agility, not top-down megaprojects. Instead of waiting for 2050, Helion’s compact reactors aim to deliver electricity in a matter of years—and not just for cities, but for data centers, isolated industries, military bases, even disaster zones. Their current prototype, Polaris, is scheduled to fire in 2025. If Helion succeeds, it won’t just disrupt global energy. It could redraw the world map.

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China and Russia have unveiled plans to construct a joint lunar base equipped with a nuclear power plant, marking a significant development in international space exploration. China wants to moonmine and we reported on that last year. They will include Pakistan as part of the plan to become the first Moonians. This initiative, known as the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), aims to establish a permanent presence on the Moon’s south pole by 2035.

The ILRS is a collaborative project between China and Russia, designed to support long-term scientific research and exploration on the Moon. According to Chinese space official Pei Zhaoyu, the base will utilize both solar arrays and a nuclear power plant to provide the necessary energy for sustained operations. The inclusion of nuclear power is intended to ensure a reliable energy source, especially during the lunar night when solar power is unavailable.​

International Reactions and Legal Considerations

The United States has expressed concerns regarding the safety and transparency of deploying nuclear technology on the Moon. A State Department spokesperson emphasized the need for a “rigorous, risk-informed safety analysis” for any space nuclear systems and highlighted the importance of transparency in such endeavors. What if it exploded? Would the moon be sent off course?

The deployment of a nuclear power plant on the Moon raises questions about the legal frameworks governing space activities. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, signed by over 100 countries including China, Russia, and the United States, stipulates that celestial bodies are not subject to national appropriation and must be used exclusively for peaceful purposes.

While the treaty prohibits the placement of nuclear weapons in space, it does not explicitly ban the use of nuclear power for peaceful purposes, leaving room for interpretation regarding projects like the ILRS.​

The Role of Nuclear Power in Sustainable Space Exploration

Nuclear power is considered a viable solution for providing consistent energy in space, particularly for missions in environments where solar power is insufficient. Companies like Rolls-Royce are developing micro nuclear reactors intended for use in space missions, highlighting the growing interest in nuclear technology for space exploration. Companies like Frequency Electronics uses nuclear energy for clocks used in space. 

The ILRS’s planned nuclear power plant represents a significant step in utilizing nuclear energy to support long-term human activities on the Moon. 

The China-Russia collaboration on the ILRS signifies a new chapter in lunar exploration, emphasizing the importance of international cooperation and the potential of nuclear power in sustaining long-term space missions. As nations continue to explore the possibilities of space, adherence to international treaties and transparent practices will be crucial in ensuring peaceful and sustainable development beyond Earth.​

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Deep in the Kubuqi desert in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, rows of blue solar panels glisten under the winter sun, converting sunlight into electricity that flows into thousands of households. Sandy and mostly devoid of life, the Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia once had a reputation for being a “sea of death.”

Now, according to NASA tracking solar power developments in China, China’s dune fields have become a sea of solar energy, transformed by a surge of newly installed solar panels. The construction is part of China’s multiyear plan to build a “solar great wall” designed to generate enough energy to power Beijing. China is now the world’s biggest producer of solar power.

The project, expected to be finished in 2030, will be 400 kilometers (250 miles) long, 5 kilometers (3 miles) wide, and achieve a maximum generating capacity of 100 gigawatts. So far, Chinese officials say they have installed about 5.4 gigawatts. The US Geological Survey which is part of the Department of The Interior captured photos from 2017 to 2024 to show how quickly the plant has expanded.

The Kubuqi’s sunny weather, flat terrain, and proximity to industrial centers make it a desirable location for solar power generation. Panels are being installed in a long, narrow band of dunes just south of the Yellow River between the cities of Baotou and Bayannur. NASA’s OLI (Operational Land Imager) and OLI-2 on Landsat 8 and 9 captured this pair of images showing the expanding footprint of solar farms between December 2017 (left) and December 2024 (right).

The solar farm that resembles a galloping horse—Junma Solar Power Station—was completed in 2019, setting a Guinness world record for the largest image made of solar panels.

It generates approximately 2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, enough to meet the yearly electricity needs of 300,000 to 400,000 people.

Junma means “fine horse” in Mandarin.

In addition to generating power, planners hope that the installation will have other benefits. They think it may help curb desertification by preventing the movement of dunes and slowing winds. Also, the elevated panels create shade that slows evaporation and may make it easier to grow pasture grasses and other crops beneath them. Analysis of Landsat data indicates that solar projects have contributed to the greening of deserts in other parts of China in recent years.

Since 2024 China leads the world in solar energy production

As of June 2024, China led the world in operating solar farm capacity with 386,875 megawatts, representing about 51 percent of the global total, according to Global Energy Monitor’s Global Solar Power Tracker.

The United States ranks second with 79,364 megawatts (11 percent), followed by India with 53,114 megawatts (7 percent).

China’s solar growth has been particularly rapid during the past decade. Between 2017 and 2023, the country’s operational solar capacity surged by an average of 39,994 megawatts per year. The solar capacity of the United States expanded by an average of 8,137 megawatts over the same period.

Beneath the panels, different types of shrubs stand tall despite their dormant yellowed leaves, shielding the land from wind and sand.

“By the end of 2023, this one-gigawatt solar power project was successfully connected to the grid, transforming over 30,000 mu (about 2,000 hectares) of desert into a sea of solar blue, with thriving vegetation flourishing beneath the panels,” said Na Guiting, who is responsible for the solar great wall project.

The project Na is working on is the first phase of the Kubuqi Desert Ordos Central-Northern New Energy Base.

As one of China’s first large-scale renewable energy bases with a capacity exceeding 10 gigawatts, the base is set to develop eight gigawatts of solar power, four gigawatts of wind power, and four gigawatts of supporting coal power.

The electricity generated will be transmitted to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region through an integrated system combining solar, wind, coal, and energy storage, with 230,000 mu dedicated to photovoltaic sand control.

Once the project is completed, it will deliver approximately 40 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, with over 50 percent coming from clean energy sources, according to Na.

It is equivalent to saving about 6 million tonnes of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by around 16 million tonnes each year, Na added.

The Kubuqi project exemplifies China’s broader effort to integrate renewable energy with ecological restoration. In the arid expanses of northern China, advanced technology is reshaping the battle against desertification, turning it into a narrative of resilience and renewal.

“I never would have imagined that as a farmer, I could find work in the sand dunes,” said Qin Zhaoping, a resident of Hengliang Township in Gansu’s Gulang County. His job involves adjusting the sprinkler irrigation systems beneath photovoltaic panels and tending to the thriving sand plants.

According to official data, 53 percent of China’s treatable desertified land has been restored, leading to a net reduction of approximately 4.33 million hectares of degraded land.

In November 2024, a three-gigawatt solar power station in Otog Front Banner of Ordos, built by CHN Energy Investment Group, was connected to the grid. It is currently the largest single-capacity solar power base built on a coal mining subsidence zone in China.

The power station is expected to generate 5.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, sufficient to meet the yearly energy needs of two million families.

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