Ordos has released China's first high-resolution map that pinpoints every wind turbine and solar panel nationwide.

Developed by Peking University's School of Earth and Space Sciences and the Peking University Ordos Research Institute of Energy, in collaboration with several other research bodies, the map is based on an AI-driven analysis of sub-meter-resolution satellite imagery covering all of China. Using a proprietary large-scale AI model, the team identified and pinpointed 319,000 photovoltaic installations and 91,600 wind turbines, covering every county-level administrative region in the country – with accuracy that ranks among the best in the world.

As China pursues its carbon-peaking and carbon-neutrality goals, it has built the world's largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system. Yet the inherent intermittency of wind and solar power continues to plague the grid, with substantial volumes of clean energy wasted through curtailment. A key barrier has been the lack of a unified, high-resolution spatial database, which has prevented grid operators and energy planners from accurately aligning dispatch decisions with the real-time output patterns of renewables.

The new map could help optimize the complementary operation of wind and solar farms, boosting the overall efficiency of the national renewable energy system without requiring any additional installed capacity. If these data were further leveraged to enable coordinated cross-provincial and cross-regional dispatching, the country could absorb an extra 100 billion kilowatt-hours of green electricity each year – roughly equivalent to 120 hours of nationwide electricity consumption.