An aerial drone photo taken on June 7, 2025 shows a photovoltaic project in Kubuqi Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]

Photovoltaic desertification control breaks free from the traditional dilemma of ‘high initial investment and difficulty in recouping costs’, utilising the clean energy sector to drive ecological restoration and enabling barren desert land to possess both ecological and energy value. As the backbone of the entire system, the structural stability, corrosion resistance, durability and site adaptability of photovoltaic mounting structures directly determine whether photovoltaic desertification control projects can operate effectively in the long term.

An aerial drone photo taken on June 6, 2025 shows a photovoltaic project in Kubuqi Desert, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]

In desert and Gobi environments, there are extreme temperature fluctuations between day and night, constant impact from wind-blown sand and gravel, intense ultraviolet radiation, and severe corrosion caused by saline-alkali dust; ordinary photovoltaic mounting structures are highly susceptible to deformation, rust, loosening and collapse. Mounting structures used in desertification control projects must therefore be specifically customised in terms of both design and manufacturing processes:

1. Basic pile foundations: cause minimal damage to the ground surface and are suitable for soft sandy soil layers

National policy explicitly encourages the use of helical piles and driven steel piles, which do not require extensive excavation or land levelling, thereby preserving the original sand layer structure to the greatest extent possible and preventing soil disturbance that could exacerbate desertification; the depth to which the piles are driven into the ground is calculated based on wind and sand mechanics to withstand strong up-thrust forces and prevent strong winds from uprooting the support structures entirely. China Government Network.

2. Structural design: high clear height, long spans, high wind resistance

The entire support structure is raised off the ground to allow space for mechanical weeding, watering and livestock access; the truss-style three-dimensional structure, combined with cable-stayed reinforcements, distributes strong wind loads; in coastal areas prone to wind and sand, and in open desert regions, the main beam sections are reinforced, and all bolts feature a double-nut, double-washer anti-loosening design to prevent fasteners from coming loose under prolonged vibration.

3. Corrosion protection process: Long-lasting resistance to salt spray and sand and dust abrasion

As sand dune dust contains saline and alkaline components, standard cold-galvanised steel will rust within 1 to 2 years. The specialised sand control supports feature a thickened layer of hot-dip galvanisation for comprehensive corrosion protection, with cut edges and drilled holes sealed with a secondary layer of zinc; the aluminium alloy profiles undergo a thickened anodising process, making them wear-resistant and UV-resistant, ensuring a service life of 25 years even when subjected to constant abrasion from wind and sand.

4. Adjustable array: adapts to the direction of sunlight and wind-blown sand

Adjustable-tilt photovoltaic mounting systems allow the angle of the panels to be adjusted according to the season: in winter, the tilt is increased to capture low-angle sunlight and boost power generation, whilst in summer, the panels are levelled to reduce wind pressure on the windward side; at the same time, the layout can be optimised according to the prevailing local wind direction to minimise the impact of wind and sand on the front of the panels.