Pourquoi la Chine construit le plus grand champ de panneaux solaires au monde ?

In the Kubuqi Desert, China is building the world's largest solar farm at a phenomenal pace.

• One soccer field worth of solar panels constructed every hour • Final area six times larger than Paris

China is also breaking records for wind and hydroelectric installations across its entire territory.

• Is China deploying a silent strategy of global dominance? • Is it becoming the first great ecological nation, or is it greenwashing? • Is this the end of the oil era and the beginning of a renewable revolution?

Starting in 1978, under Deng Xiaoping, China changed strategy and decided to become the world's factory, triggering rapid industrialization (example: Shenzhen, transformed from a fishing village to a global tech hub).

This industrial explosion required enormous energy, and China, rich in coal, massively exploited this resource.

• Extreme pollution rendering some cities unbreathable • Coal is the fossil fuel that emits the most CO2 per unit of energy produced

Rather than importing oil or gas (foreign dependence deemed unacceptable), China is betting massively on renewables, particularly solar, produced on its own territory.

• In 2024, China installed enough solar panels and wind turbines to cover France's electrical needs • In the first half of 2025, it added 212 GW of solar, more than total U.S. solar capacity

China, one-fifth covered by desert, accounts for nearly 60% of new global solar installations in 2025 and reached its clean energy targets 6 years ahead of schedule.

• China dominates over 50% of production for components essential to wind, solar, and electric vehicles • It controls 60 to 85% of the supply chain for solar panels, heat pumps, wind turbines, and hydrogen electrolyzers

With the new Silk Roads and investments in Africa and worldwide, China is building ports, power lines, dams, mines, and power plants to control the entire value chain and make the world dependent on it for the energy transition.

It would be absurd to replace dependence on fossil fuels with total dependence on China; hence the urgency of building a strong European industry in renewables.

A European company based in Switzerland that protects user data, unlike Google or Microsoft models based on data exploitation.

• Services powered by renewable electricity (hydroelectric and solar) • Data centers operating without air conditioning or water consumption for cooling • Heat produced is recovered to warm buildings

Free trial of email, storage, file transfer, and video conferencing services; offering up to 6 TB of cloud storage with 50% discount via code limite50.

In 2024, China built two coal power plants per week, accounting for 93% of new global installations, unprecedented in 15 years.

• Global coal consumption tends to decrease despite these openings • Coal plants mainly serve to offset renewable intermittency • Projection: coal utilization rates could drop to 20-30% by 2050 • Chinese thermal production saw its first annual decline in 10 years in 2025

The world's largest polluter, China is also the most advanced nation in renewables: largest solar park, largest wind farm, world's leading hydroelectric producer.

• Hydroelectric power is China's primary renewable source (16%, versus 4% for solar and 8% for wind) • The world's largest hydroelectric dam required the relocation of nearly 2 million people • Energy potential of 60 GW, comparable to France's entire nuclear fleet

Despite massive electrification efforts, China is not an ecological nation, because the real problem is not only climate but economic growth exceeding planetary boundaries.

Using green energy to continue polluting water, soil, or air in the name of economic growth solves nothing: it doesn't matter if the chainsaw is electric if it cuts without limit.

• Break free from the growth trap, which doesn't increase happiness beyond a certain point • Self-limit and adopt reasonable consumption without renouncing all comfort • Invent new economic models, like Infomaniak's (foundation ownership, minimal impact) • Ask political leaders to plan energy sobriety and the end of oil

The LIMIT channel announces its intention to continue offering reports on sustainable and desirable alternatives, and thanks its monthly donors who support this independent media.