China just built a 250-acre solar farm shaped like a giant panda

Advertisement

Panda Green Energy 889x500

China Merchants New Energy/Panda Green Energy

The Panda Power Plant in Datong, China.

Most solar farms align their solar arrays in rows and columns to form a grid.

Advertisement

A new solar power plant in Datong, China, however, decided to have a little fun with its design. China Merchants New Energy Group, one of the country's largest clean energy operators, built a 248-acre solar farm in the shape of a giant panda.

The first phase, which includes one 50-megawatt plant, was completed on June 30, according to PV magazine. The project just began delivering power to a grid in northwestern China, and a second panda is planned for later this year.

Complimentary Tech Event
Transform talent with learning that works
Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

Called the Panda Power Plant, it will be able to produce 3.2 billion kilowatt-hours of solar energy in 25 years, according to the company. That will eliminate approximately million tons of coal that would have been used to produce electricity, reducing carbon emissions by 2.74 million tons.

Panda Green Energy China 889x568

China Merchants New Energy/Panda Green Energy

The Panda Power Plant in Datong, China will stretch 1,500 acres when complete.

Advertisement

China Merchants New Energy Group worked with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to make the Panda Power Plant a reality. The project is part of a larger effort to raise awareness among young people in China about clean energy, the UNDP wrote in a statement.

The groups hope to build more panda-shaped solar plants throughout China in the next five years.

NOW WATCH: Mount Everest is not the tallest mountain in the world