The summer sunlight lingers long into the evening on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Sonam Drolma, a 31-year-old Tibetan herdswoman from Shangtamai village, Chabucha township, Gonghe county, negotiates a motorcycle through the gaps among a sea of dark blue photovoltaic panels, driving her sheep back to the circle for water, in the Talatan Photovoltaic Industry Park in Gonghe county, Hainan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Northwest China's Qinghai province.

　　Herding sheep among photovoltaic panels is an unintentional positive outcome for the herdsmen. In 2012, the prefecture government began to install China's first 10 million kilowatt-class solar power generation base in Talatan (Tala sand land). Ten years later, the photovoltaic park there covers an area of 609 square kilometers, which is close to the land area of Singapore. With the installed 8,430 megawatts, the park tops the chart with the largest photovoltaic power generation capacity in the world.

　　Talatan is nearly 3,000 meters above sea level. This means that it is pummeled with radiation from the sun which is not suitable for plant growth. It was an ambitious plan by the local government to build a photovoltaic power station there, as the original desertification rate was up to 98.5 percent. The panels are prone to damage by the sand and gravel disturbed up by the strong gusts of wind. Grass seeds have been heavily planted in the base to stop the sand from being blown away.

　　The locals took a dim view of the grass growing, let alone thriving, in such a barren place. Unexpectedly, the grass here has kept growing prolifically, and the photovoltaic panel park has turned into an oasis. "The laying of photovoltaic panels reduces the wind erosion on vegetation. The water we use for daily cleaning of photovoltaic panels infiltrates beneath the surface, which has a certain nourishing effect on the grass," says Zhu Mingcheng, general manager of the Hainan branch of the Yellow River Hydropower Co.

　　The grass grows and the sand settles, but new challenges arise. The grass grows haphazardly, blocking the photovoltaic panels, reducing their conversion rate, and literally, stacking up fire hazards in winter. The staff have tried manual weeding, spraying herbicides, and even thinking about raising the photovoltaic panels, but they could not fully solve the dilemma. And then nature, as is so often the case, came up with its own solution.

　　"Rather than paying someone to mow the grass, it's better to let herdsmen put their sheep here," says Zhu as he recalled his flash of "inspiration" at that time. The park invited the surrounding villagers to raise "photovoltaic sheep". They built four sheep pens for free, so that the "photovoltaic shepherd" could start their "old business" at zero cost.

　　Sonam is among the many herdspersons who have agreed to drive their flocks to the park to graze. The grass here is enough to feed the sheep, and the shadow cast by the photovoltaic panels is especially suitable for the sheep to rest in the shade. Manure can serve as a natural fertilizer for the grass. Speaking of the biggest difference in sheep herding today, Sonam says, "The sheep eat well and they have a higher survival rate. Now my flock has doubled in number, and my annual income has increased by 40,000 to 50,000 yuan ($5,960-7,450)."

　　In addition to being a "photovoltaic shepherd", villagers can also expand their income sources by cleaning photovoltaic modules, mowing grass, and handling cargo in the park.

　　The photovoltaic power station in Talatan not only provides clean energy, but also attracts herdsmen to return, creating a cycle of activity that improves the ecological environment on the Gobi Desert. "It kills three birds with one stone," says Zhang Zhenfei, director of the energy bureau of Hainan Tibetan autonomous prefecture. "The current Talatan not only has an average annual power generation of 80 million kilowatt-hours, but also achieves a 50 percent reduction in wind speed in the park, a 30 percent reduction in soil moisture evaporation, and a recovery of vegetation coverage of 80 percent. With the desertification of the land curbed, the annual output of pasture has reached 110,000 tonnes, and the number of 'photovoltaic sheep' has reached more than 20,000."

　　高原夏日的傍晚，光照依舊強(qiáng)烈。2022年7月6日，青海省海南藏族自治州共和縣的塔拉灘光電園區(qū)，恰卜恰鎮(zhèn)上塔邁村31歲的藏族牧民索南卓瑪騎著摩托車穿行在深藍(lán)色的光伏板間，驅(qū)趕著羊群回圈飲水。

　　在光伏板里放羊，是個(gè)“無心插柳柳成蔭”的故事。2012年，海南州在塔拉灘開始修建我國第一個(gè)千萬千瓦級(jí)太陽能發(fā)電基地。10年后，塔拉灘的光伏園占地面積達(dá)到609平方公里，接近新加坡的國土面積；光伏發(fā)電裝機(jī)容量為8430兆瓦，目前是全球最大裝機(jī)容量的光伏發(fā)電園區(qū)。

　　塔拉灘海拔將近3000米，陽光輻射強(qiáng)烈，特別不適合植物生長，原本的荒漠化率高達(dá)98.5%，所以才選在這里建光伏電站。塔拉灘的風(fēng)沙大，光伏板很容易被大風(fēng)卷起來的沙石損壞，工作人員在基地里撒了不少草籽，用來防風(fēng)固沙。

　　按說在這么貧瘠的地方，草不可能長得太好。沒想到的是，這里的草卻一個(gè)勁兒瘋長，光伏板下面成了一片綠油油的草原?！肮夥宓匿佋O(shè)，減少了風(fēng)對(duì)植被的影響，我們?nèi)粘Ｇ逑垂夥宓乃畷?huì)下滲至地表，這對(duì)草地有一定滋養(yǎng)作用?！秉S河水電公司海南分公司總經(jīng)理朱明成說。

　　草長起來了，沙也固住了，但新麻煩也隨之而來——草雜亂無章的生長，遮擋住了光伏板，降低了光伏板發(fā)電的轉(zhuǎn)化率，并且冬天還存在火災(zāi)隱患。工作人員試過人工除草、灑除草劑，甚至想過干脆把光伏板架高，但都不能從根本上解決問題。

　　“與其花錢雇人來割草，還不如讓牧民來放羊?！敝烀鞒苫貞洰?dāng)時(shí)的“靈機(jī)一動(dòng)”。園區(qū)邀請(qǐng)周邊村民進(jìn)入光伏園養(yǎng)起“光伏羊”，“我們免費(fèi)修建了4座羊圈，讓‘光伏羊倌’零成本干起‘老本行’?！?/p>

　　索南卓瑪就這樣把自家的羊群趕到了園區(qū)放牧。這里的草足夠喂羊，光伏板的陰影也特別適合羊群休息，而羊糞又能成為草的天然肥料。說起如今放羊最大的不同，索南卓瑪說：“羊吃得好，成活率也更高了，現(xiàn)在我的羊群數(shù)量比之前翻了一倍，年收入增加了四五萬元?！贝送?，除了當(dāng)“光伏羊倌”，村民還能在園區(qū)通過清洗光伏組件、割草、貨物搬運(yùn)等方式拓寬收入渠道。

　　塔拉灘的光伏電站既提供了清潔能源，又吸引了牧民回歸，還改善了戈壁的生態(tài)環(huán)境，可以說是一舉三得。海南藏族自治州能源局局長張振飛說，“現(xiàn)在的塔拉灘不僅有8000萬度的年均發(fā)電量，還實(shí)現(xiàn)了園區(qū)風(fēng)速降低50%、土壤水分蒸發(fā)量減少30%、植被覆蓋也恢復(fù)到80%，土地荒漠化得到遏制，每年的牧草產(chǎn)量達(dá)到11萬噸，存欄的“光伏羊”達(dá)到兩萬多只。”

　　In the Talatan Photovoltaic Industry Park in Gonghe county, Hainan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Northwest China's Qinghai province, herdsmen driving their sheep back to the sheepfold for water.

　　2022年7月6日，青海省海南藏族自治州共和縣的塔拉灘光電園區(qū)，牧民驅(qū)趕著羊群回羊圈飲水。

　　Yang Ruoyi, an employee from the Longyangxia Hydro-Solar Hybrid Power Station, elaborating on the ecological improvement of the Gobi Desert.

　　龍羊峽水光互補(bǔ)發(fā)電站的講解員楊若怡介紹沙漠戈壁生態(tài)向好的經(jīng)過。

　　An 18-year-old Tibetan making ends meet by working as a temporary worker in the park.

　　18歲藏族小伙楊青東在塔拉灘光伏園區(qū)打臨時(shí)工創(chuàng)收。

　　The staff in the Talatan Photovoltaic Industry Park cleaning the photovoltaic panels.

　　工作人員在塔拉灘光伏園區(qū)內(nèi)清洗光伏板。

　　Yu Yang, 32, and his colleague conducting photovoltaic maintenance work.

　　維檢工于洋（32歲，右）和同事進(jìn)行光伏維護(hù)作業(yè)。

　　Herdswoman Sonam Drolma riding a motorcycle to herd sheep among the photovoltaic panels.

　　牧民索南卓瑪騎著摩托車在光伏板里牧羊。

　　Herdswoman Sonam Drolma watering the sheep in the pasture.

　　索南卓瑪在牧場給羊群飲水。