Big Picture

Amazon’s Solar farm in Shandong

China

Located about 310 miles south of Beijing, China, in the Shandong province, Amazon’s solar farm is one of the tech giant’s two renewable energy projects in China. The solar farm includes 420,000 panels across 1.5 square miles. The project brought significant economic benefits from the US$139mn invested. At peak development, the project created more than 800 construction jobs.

Beyond the economic benefits, the project is unique because it is built around a fishery, integrating photovoltaic power generation by converting sunlight into electricity above the water and safe marine life production beneath the water, which results in the simultaneous harvesting of both solar energy and the South American white shrimp, sea cucumber, grouper, and other aquatic organisms. The developer also built an exhibition centre, a science education base, and several leisure and entertainment facilities.