How Tibetan nomads deal with life amidst China’s giant solar and wind farms

How Tibetan nomads deal with life amidst China’s giant solar and wind farms

The once alpine grasslands where herders moved freely and grazed across a boundless horizon are now covered by rows of solar panels.

How the development of solar and wind farms on the Tibetan Plateau is affecting local communities

With vast open landscapes and high elevations that provide ideal conditions for harnessing solar and wind energy, many pastoral lands have become key sites for large-scale renewable energy projects. Parts of what was once open fine alpine grassland, which Tibetans call pangtang where herders moved freely and gazed across the boundless horizon, are now covered by dense rows of solar panels. When the solar panels were installed, excavation for sup…