From Asia Times Online:
Serious shortages of primary energy sources like oil and coal have prompted the mainaland Chinese government to promulgate a law on the development of renewable energy sources. Solar energy could be the first choice as an alternative to fossil fuels.
China’s western areas, especially the Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai, Gansu, and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, have rich solar energy resources. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has a total radiation volume of 6,000-8,000 trillion joules per square metre annually, averaging 7 kwh per square metre, and the hours of sunshine total 3,400 per year. The radiation volume in Tibet ranks second in the world, just after the Sahara Desert. Accordingly, the western areas have boosted the development of solar energy resources in recent years.
