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Li Taige is a Beijing-based journalist. He obtained a masters degree in engineering from Sichuan University in 1997, and studied as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2003-2004.
Water, sun and dung
Li Taige
October 28, 2008
Environmental challenges make supplying the ever-growing population of Tibet with sufficient and sustainable electricity a logistical conundrum. Li Taige reports.
“There are more solar power generators in Tibet than anywhere else in China, with hundreds at county or village level. But total generating capacity is no more than nine megawatts.”
Puntso’s yard is piled high with dung – specifically, wind-dried dung.
The 68-year old is a herder in the village of Niangqu, in the Nagqu area of Tibet. The household uses dung for fuel for cooking and winter heating.
Dung is an essential part of Tibetan life and is Tibet’s most common form of biofuel. The 420,000 residents of the Nagqu area burn an estimated two million tonnes of dung per year.
The dung would make good fertilizer to help the grass in the pastures grow. Its use as a primitive fuel source causes pollution and breaks the link between grass and grass-eating animals.
Research by the Academy of Agricultural Science’s Institute of Agricultural Environment and Sustainable Development and the Nagqu Agriculture and Livestock Bureau has shown that about one half of the pastures in the area are damaged – 300 million mu (20 million hectares) of land. The burning of dung is believed to be one cause of this.
Yet there is no way that dung can meet Tibet’s ever-growing demand for energy.
The Tibetan economy has grown rapidly in recent years. Infrastructure such as the Qinghai-Tibet railway and Nyingchi Airport are now up and running; the population has grown from 1.51 million in 1970 to 2.68 million in 2005 and energy shortages are worsening.
There are fossil fuels under the Tibetan soil – reserves of tens of millions of tonnes of coal have been identified in the Nagqu, Chamdo and Kailash areas. But there are no plans to mine these reserves, due to environmental and other considerations.
Currently Tibet imports hundreds of thousands of tonnes of coal and oil every year to ensure fuel is available for vehicles and other needs. Some of Punsto’s neighbours have bought cars now.
But unlike other areas of China, Tibet does not have coal-fired power stations, and there is a shortage of electricity throughout the region – from Nagqu in the north, Nyingchi in the south-east and even the capital Lhasa.
Tibet University’s Agricultural College, located in Nyingchi, often suffers blackouts in winter, with the teachers saying that the last two years have seen the school resort to diesel-powered generators.
There is no doubt that obtaining adequate energy sources is a major issue for Tibet.
Several years back a 10,000 yuan (US$6,000) subsidy from the government allowed Punsto to install a solar panel. It provides enough power for illumination and several hours of television every evening.
Tibet has rich solar resources. In some areas government projects are attempting to replace traditional fuels such as dung and firewood with solar cookers and methane. So what role can solar power play in the provision of electricity?
Three years ago the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Electrical Engineering and Beijing Corona Co. built a 100 Kilowatt solar power station in Yangpachen. According to Corona engineer Lin Wei, this is the first solar power station to be hooked up to the electricity network – providing power for 150 households in Lhasa.
The project area is now the centre for renewable energy efforts in Tibet, and the government plans to build an even larger solar power station here.
Meanwhile in Nagqu, the government has funded solar panels in villages not connected to the power grid – Puntso’s family was one of the beneficiaries.
But solar power generating still has fatal flaws, including extremely high costs. The station in Yangbajing was not a commercial project; it was a trial supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission. All the funding came from government.
There are more solar power generators in Tibet than anywhere else in China, with hundreds at county or village level. But total generating capacity is no more than 9 megawatts. For the moment at least, the generation of electricity from solar power is unlikely to become widespread.
Solar power must also face the challenges from hydroelectric power.
A year ago, Punsto’s home was connected to an electricity network powered by hydropower. And the solar panel on his roof only supplies a few hundred watts of power – nowhere near enough to power appliances such as a refrigerator.
As herders’ homes have been connected to the electricity network, some solar panels are even falling into disuse – an awkward fact for a developing new source of energy.
Currently hydroelectricity is the rising star of Tibet’s energy sector. A 25-megawatt geothermal plant in Yangpachen once supplied 40% of Lhasa’s power. But with the construction of projects such as the pumped storage hydropower station at Yang Lake, that figure has dropped to only 10%.
And the construction of those hydroelectric plants is only getting started.
On the road between Lhasa and Nyingchi, I saw hydroelectric stations being constructed in Zhokha and Tiger Mouth, with the river having been dammed between precipitous cliffs.
These two plants are key parts of Tibet’s 11th Five Year Plan electricity capacity project. Work on the 700 million yuan (US$ 102 million), 40-megawatt Zhokha plant started in June 2006. On September 26of the same year the first generator started operation. The Tiger Mouth project features Tibet’s largest single hydroelectric generator, and on completion the 1.3 billion yuan (US$185 million) plant will produce 100 Mw of power.
Alongside these large and expensive projects, there are also several smaller hydroelectric plants in Tibet. Along the road through Nyingchi’s valley, I even came across a 3-Kilowatt plant providing power for a forestry station with only one occupant.
The construction of these facilities is always controversial. But at the least, these stations can provide the people of Tibet with power. After all, it is only in the last two years that Punsto’s family have had electricity, and there are still hundreds of thousands who do not.
But in the rush to build these plants, Tibet must not overlook environmental impact assessments and protection, and the door should be left open to new energy sources such as solar power.
Li Taige is a Beijing-based journalist. He obtained a master’s degree in engineering from Sichuan University in 1997 and was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2003-04.
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政府、相关学者应该根据实际情况，为西藏系统的设计整合各类资源的能源规划。
the government and relevant scholars should provide an energy plan fit for Tibet by integrating all sorts of energies.
Translated by Ming Li
西藏地区有不少牧民,牧民的流动性很强,不可能每天都带着发电走,使用牛粪这是当地的传统,或者说是自然选择的结果.
文中说,烧牛粪造成草场退化,我不大认同这种看法.
对于已经定居的藏民,他们的能源供应,应该就完全是另外一种方式了.就象1楼说的"设计整合各类资源的能源规划"
二崬曹
there are lots of herders who frequently move from place to place, so moving with generators is unrealistic for them. it is a traditional and local practice to take dung for energy, or we could call this a choice by nature. this article takes a view that burning dung leads to grassland degradation, which I disagree somehow. the supply of energy for resident Tibetan people should be completely different, just like "an energy plan by integrating all sorts of energies" in the No.1 comment. Er Dongcao
Translated by Ming Li
看完之后感觉，还是得依靠太阳能发电比较好，投资多些也很正常，西藏本来就是特殊的地区不是么？
This article made me feel that solar power generation is a better choice for Tibet. It is understandable that it needs more investment. After all, Tibet is a special region, isn't it？
Translated by Ming Li
只要是人，立在太阳下，就不该逃避挽救其故土的责任。我们没有权利只顾自己，如果我们仍和以往一般，我们的后代要生活在哪里？完全有理由，我们面对的只能是绝望。我一点也不悲观，我们对未来都很乐观，但这要靠我们在世界范围上共同努力。老友们，为了我们心爱的故土，一道努力吧。
本评论由Ming Li翻译
As long as you are human, and standing beneath the sun, you should not evade your responsibility to save your homeland. We have no right just to look out for ourselves, if we do as we did in the past, where are our offspring going to live? There is every reason to believe that we face nothing but despair. But I am not pessimistic at all. We are all optimistic about the future, but it depends on our joint efforts worldwide.
Dear friends, let's work together for our beloved homeland.
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