Xi'an Goes Solar

Xi'an just opened the largest solar research facility in the world.

From Tradingmarkets.com:

XI'AN, Nov 11, 2008 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- Applied Materials Inc. of the United States recently kicked off the construction of its global solar energy research and development (R&D) center in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Applied Materials will inject US$45 million into the R&D center, which is expected to come into operation in June 2009, covering 34,000 square meters of floor space.

After completion, the new center will be the world's first solar energy R&D center integrating thin-film and crystalline silicon solar energy technologies, and it is also one of the most advanced and largest ones globally.

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Hopefully, this kind of research will help put an end to China's utter dependence on coal for its power.

Although China is reliant fossil fuels, in some ways, it is quite progressive when it comes to alternative energy sources.

There are a lot of solar panels on roofs around Xi'an. In fact, there is a store selling solar-powered water heaters a few stores down from the school I work at:


Photo taken by my friend Andy at the solar water heater store

While Xi'an is by no means a green city, it is at least showing signs of life at cleaning its atrociously gray skies.