Under the promotion of the rural revitalization strategy, photovoltaic power stations have become an important force in driving rural economic development, improving living environment, and increasing farmers' income with their unique advantages. From rooftop photovoltaics to complementary agricultural photovoltaics, from photovoltaic poverty alleviation to rural energy revolution, photovoltaic power stations are deeply integrated into various fields of rural development, injecting green momentum into rural revitalization.
1 Distributed photovoltaics: turning rural rooftops into 'power stations'
Rural areas have a large amount of idle roof resources, such as roofs for residential houses, village committees, and schools. Installing distributed photovoltaic power stations on these roofs can not only meet the electricity needs of rural areas themselves, but also sell excess electricity online, bringing stable income to farmers and village collectives.
A village in Henan Province has implemented the "whole village photovoltaic roof" project, and 100 households in the village have installed photovoltaic power stations with a total capacity of 500kW on their roofs. Each household generates approximately 5000 kWh of electricity annually. Apart from self use, the surplus electricity can generate a profit of about 2000 yuan when connected to the grid. The 100kW photovoltaic power station constructed by the village collective generates approximately 120000 kWh of electricity annually, with all proceeds used for village collective public welfare projects such as road construction and improvement of elderly care facilities. This project not only enables farmers to earn money by sunbathing, but also enhances the collective economic strength of the village, providing financial support for rural governance.
The construction of distributed photovoltaic power stations has also driven rural employment. During the installation and maintenance of the power station, local farmers can participate in construction and operation work after training, and each person can earn 3000-4000 yuan per month, achieving employment at their doorstep.
2 Agricultural photovoltaic complementarity: "dual benefits" on land
The "agricultural photovoltaic complementary" model combines photovoltaic power generation with agricultural planting, planting shade loving crops, Chinese medicinal herbs, grass, etc. under the photovoltaic panels, achieving a three-dimensional agricultural model of "on-board power generation and off board planting", improving land use efficiency and comprehensive income.
A complementary photovoltaic power station in Jiangsu Province covers an area of 1000 acres. The photovoltaic panels installed above generate approximately 120 million kWh of electricity annually, while economic crops such as edible mushrooms and strawberries are planted below. Photovoltaic panels block strong light for crops, creating a suitable growth environment, and improving the yield and quality of edible fungi and strawberries. The annual comprehensive income per mu of land in this project is more than three times that of traditional planting, driving employment for more than 500 farmers in the surrounding area and increasing their per capita annual income by 20000 yuan.
In addition, models such as "fish light complementarity" and "animal husbandry light complementarity" have also been widely applied in rural areas. In Zhejiang, the fishery photovoltaic complementary power station utilizes the water surface of fish ponds to construct photovoltaic panels, and underwater aquaculture of fish and shrimp achieves a double harvest of "power generation and fish farming"; In Inner Mongolia, the complementary photovoltaic power station between animal husbandry and solar energy plants plants plants grass under the photovoltaic panels to develop animal husbandry, which not only improves the vegetation coverage of grasslands but also increases the income of herdsmen.
3 Photovoltaic poverty alleviation: a long-term mechanism to consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation
Photovoltaic poverty alleviation, as an important way of industrial poverty alleviation, has played an important role in poverty alleviation and has now become a long-term mechanism for consolidating poverty alleviation achievements and preventing poverty relapse. By constructing photovoltaic power stations in impoverished villages, the power generation income is distributed to impoverished households, providing them with a stable source of income.
A deeply impoverished county in Yunnan has built a 50kW photovoltaic poverty alleviation power station in 200 impoverished villages each. Each power station generates approximately 60000 kWh of electricity annually, with a revenue of around 50000 yuan, all of which is used to support impoverished households in the village and develop the village's collective economy. Poor households can receive dividends of 1000-2000 yuan per year, and can also earn income from working in the operation and maintenance of power plants. The construction of photovoltaic poverty alleviation power stations has provided stable "sunshine income" for impoverished households, effectively preventing the occurrence of poverty relapse.