Bloomberg just reported on plans by Softbank to develop a first 300 MW wind power site in the Gobi desert, in cooperation with Newcom.
The article doesn’t say where that particular site is. I would recommend building somewhere close to the Oyu Tolgoi project, which will be the largest consumer of electricity in the Gobi desert for some time.
They want to do a feasibility study this year, and start operations in 2014, if the project actually goes ahead. The next step would be to develop some more sites with a total of 7,000 MW capacity.
This is welcome news. I wish them the best of luck with these plans.
Of course, these are only first baby steps on the way to large scale renewable energy generation from the Mongolian Gobi desert. It will take a decade or two for the first electricity to be delivered over the Asia Super Grid from Mongolia to Japan.
But even the longest journey needs to start with the first steps.
Related post: My Book: Energy from the Mongolian Gobi desert
Related blog categories: Energy from the desert, Mongolia
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