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Satellite images from NASA show the sprawling growth of the largest solar farm in the world.

ByAda Carr
February 28, 2017Updated: February 28, 2017, 2:11 pm ESTPublished: February 28, 2017, 2:11 pm EST

The satellite image above shows China's Longyangxia Dam Solar Park on Jan. 5, 2017. The solar farm holds 4 million panels and has an 850-megawatt capacity, which is enough to power roughly 140,000 U.S. homes.

(NASA Earth Observatory )

 

In China’s Qinghai Province, 4 million solar panels are visible from space, soaking up sunlight. The panels are part of the largest solar farm in the world, Longyangxia Dam Solar Park, which NASA has chronicled in satellite images.

 

The complex has grown rapidly since its creation in 2013 when it started as a cluster of panels, as seen in an early NASA image.

 

In 2016, China’s total installed capacity increased to 77 gigawatts, which pushed the country ahead of other leading producers of solar energy, according to a release from NASA. By Jan. 5, its panels spanned across 10 square miles in Qinghai province.

 

Currently, the plant has an 850-megawatt capacity – enough to power about 140,000 American homes, according to Live Science.

 

(MORE: Planetary System Resembling Star Wars Planet Tatooine Discovered)

 

In the satellite image above, the Longyangxia Dam Solar Park in China is pictured in its early stages on April 16, 2013.

(NASA Earth Observatory )

 

China pledged to invest more in green energy to help combat its pollution levels and halt the growth of its annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 under the Paris Climate Agreement, Business Insider reported. Last year, the nation invested $103 billion in renewable energy.

 

China is likely to stay a leader in this area for the next few years, or for even longer,” Hong Kong Polytechnic University renewable energy professor Yang Hongxing told the South China Morning Post. “The low cost of building photovoltaic modules (solar panels) in China is the country’s main advantage. Many modules in the U.S. and Europe are made in China.”

 

A project planned for China’s Ningxia region will likely bump Longyangxia to the second-largest solar park in the world, NASA also said. The proposed park will have a capacity of 2,000 megawatts when it is completed.

 

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Solar Panels

 

 

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