Pradip R. Sagar
China's ambitious plan to build the world's largest solar farm—spanning nearly 610 sq km across the Tibetan Plateau—has been celebrated globally as a monumental step in the fight against climate change. Beijing has projected it as proof of its leadership in renewable energy, positioning itself as the world's green powerhouse.
Yet, when viewed through the Indian lens, this colossal project on what is known as the 'roof of the world' reveals a more complex and unsettling picture, intertwining environmental disruption, strategic overreach and geopolitical implications.
The Tibetan Plateau is one of Earth's most-ecologically-sensitive regions. It acts as Asia's climate regulator and the source of major river systems, including the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra, which sustain millions of lives in India. The large-scale replacement of reflective desert terrain with dark solar panels threatens to upset this fragile equilibrium.
Studies suggest such solar installations can cause local warming spikes of 1-2 degrees Celsius, which may accelerate glacier melt, alter rainfall patterns and disturb wind flows. For India, any climatic disturbance on the Tibetan Plateau could directly affect the Himalayan water reserves that feed its rivers, threatening the water and food security of vast populations downstream. The Chinese project that the world hails as a green breakthrough could, in the long term, end up destabilising South Asia's environmental and hydrological balance.
China watchers believe that beneath the banner of clean energy lies a deeper strategic design. The solar project is not merely an ecological undertaking; it extends China's dual-use infrastructure network deep into the Tibetan Plateau, strengthening its military logistics, communication and surveillance capabilities. Roads, transmission corridors and supporting facilities built under the guise of renewable energy development enhance the People's Liberation Army's operational reach and situational awareness along sectors facing Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Ladakh.
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