Zhongli Group is a Fortune China 500 company, a domestic A-share listed enterprise, and a major taxpayer among private enterprises in Jiangsu Province, having paid over RMB 1 billion in taxes to the state in 2016. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Talesun Photovoltaic, is a world‑leading manufacturer of fully automated photovoltaic cells with an annual capacity of 3 GW and photovoltaic modules with an annual capacity of 5 GW, serving as a frontrunner in China’s photovoltaic manufacturing sector. The company operates an academician workstation, an engineering technology R&D center, the Zhongli Photovoltaic Agriculture Research Institute, Zhongli Agricultural Technology Development Co., Ltd., and a national‑level new‑energy power testing center. To date, Zhongli Group has cumulatively developed and constructed photovoltaic power plants totaling more than 4 GW, making it a benchmark enterprise for high‑quality PV projects in China.

Through years of continuous exploration, Zhongli Group has pioneered an innovative model that integrates the photovoltaic industry with modern large-scale agriculture, successfully developing a next-generation agrivoltaic system—“Smart Photovoltaics + Tech‑Driven Agriculture.” This groundbreaking technology has overcome the land‑use constraints that have long hindered photovoltaic deployment in eastern regions, seamlessly blending solar power generation with cutting‑edge agricultural practices. By addressing longstanding challenges in the development of the solar sector, it has enhanced the broader social impact of agricultural modernization and environmental sustainability.

Large-scale agricultural cultivation of rice, wheat, corn, and other crops under photovoltaic panels.

The Zhongli “Smart Photovoltaics + Tech‑Driven Agriculture” innovation project elevates photovoltaic mounting structures to heights exceeding 4 meters and increases the pile spacing to 10 spans. By employing innovative techniques such as single‑panel module installation and optimized tilt angles, it simultaneously supports large‑scale mechanized farming while ensuring adequate solar irradiation for crops like rice, wheat, and corn grown beneath the panels. Under this groundbreaking model, PV installations do not alter the agricultural nature of the land, preventing the sector from becoming “non‑agricultural.” This approach effectively safeguards national food security, addresses the longstanding land‑availability bottleneck in the PV industry, and boosts both per‑mu agricultural yields and farmers’ incomes.

Moreover, Zhongli’s “Smart Photovoltaics” leverages a big-data‑driven intelligent cloud‑center monitoring system to pioneer modern, smart facility management in “smart agriculture.” It automatically analyzes real‑time data on ambient temperature, soil moisture, and nutrient deficiencies in crops, and, through pipelines installed on photovoltaic mounting structures, implements automated irrigation and fertilization under the cloud center’s autonomous control. At the same time, it has introduced innovative smart systems such as solar‑powered pest‑control lamps and devices for eliminating the four major agricultural pests, thereby realizing the integration of “smart agriculture” with “pollution‑free farming.” Furthermore, this approach has enabled highly efficient forage cultivation and livestock raising in western regions, maximizing land use and significantly boosting herders’ incomes.

Soilless vegetable cultivation under photovoltaic panels

Specialty agricultural cultivation under photovoltaic systems

The Zhongli “Smart Photovoltaics + Technology‑Driven Industry” innovation project has boosted agricultural productivity and photovoltaic power generation efficiency, created substantial employment opportunities for farmers, and increased tax revenues from solar‑powered electricity generation on farmland for both national and local governments. By delivering mutual benefits to farmers, enterprises, and the government on a single plot of land, this initiative has innovatively advanced both national interests and public welfare.

On October 23, 2016, a large-scale demonstration and validation conference for Zhongli’s “Smart Photovoltaics Integrated with Large-Scale Agriculture—Rice Cultivation” innovation project, organized by the Chinese Society of Agricultural Economics, was held in Jiangsu Province. The conference was attended by experts from 17 national ministries, commissions, and research institutions. The expert panel concluded that Zhongli’s “Smart Photovoltaics–Driven Large-Scale Agricultural Innovation” project has successfully transformed barren land into productive rice and other grain‑based agricultural systems, significantly boosting land productivity, increasing agricultural output, and raising farmers’ incomes. Moreover, the project has pioneered a novel approach to poverty alleviation by generating complementary economic benefits through the integration of photovoltaic energy with agriculture, thus opening up a new pathway that delivers win‑win outcomes for all stakeholders while benefiting both the nation and its people. The project is well suited for widespread application in farmland and merits prioritized promotion as a poverty‑alleviation initiative.

Specialized Aquaculture Under Photovoltaic Systems

Zhongli’s “Smart Photovoltaics Integrated with Large-Scale Agriculture” has achieved a groundbreaking innovation. Recently, the award ceremony for the “China Rural Revitalization Innovation List Public Selection Event,” hosted by the Farmers’ Daily, was held at the Beijing Convention Center. Zhongli’s innovative model of “smart photovoltaics integrated with high-tech agriculture” was recognized as one of the “Top Ten Innovative Models in China’s Rural Areas.”

Building on its “Smart Photovoltaics + Tech‑Driven Agriculture” innovation initiative, Zhongli has further developed the “Poverty‑Stricken Village PV Farm,” which has been designated by relevant authorities as a flagship, replicable village‑level poverty‑alleviation project. Zhongli has also proactively launched an industry alliance and established the “Photovoltaic Poverty‑Alleviation Industry Fund” to provide capital for these village‑level PV farms, while leveraging policy banks to offer targeted poverty‑relief loans. Together, these measures enable impoverished villages to achieve sustainable, multi‑layered benefits—combining photovoltaics, agriculture, and employment—for a 20‑year period, thus delivering precise, long‑term poverty reduction.

High-Efficiency Animal Husbandry Under Photovoltaic Systems

Wang Baixing, Chairman of Zhongli Group and Chair of the Executive Committee of the Asian Photovoltaic Association, hopes that relevant national authorities will approve the launch of a series of demonstration pilot projects on farmland in eastern China, followed by planned, large-scale deployment. By integrating photovoltaics with smart agriculture into a comprehensive, multi‑dimensional solution, this initiative aims to boost agricultural yields per mu and expand the growth potential of the photovoltaic industry. Moreover, through an innovative “village‑enterprise cooperative farm” model, it seeks to address rural aging and farmer employment challenges, fostering integrated development across multiple sectors. Zhongli’s “Smart Photovoltaics + Smart Agriculture” innovation project has already earned recognition from local governments and agricultural experts, securing more than 30 international and domestic invention patents. Our goal is to transform “Made in China” into “Innovated in China,” fully implementing a targeted poverty‑alleviation strategy that leverages the synergistic benefits of “photovoltaics plus agriculture,” ensuring that impoverished villages share in the fruits of scientific and technological advancement.

Mechanized farming under photovoltaic panels

Meticulously implementing the county‑specific poverty‑alleviation program for impoverished counties.

Guided by the national policies of targeted poverty alleviation and eradication, Zhongli Group has proactively launched a series of innovative initiatives under its photovoltaic‑based poverty‑alleviation program. Over the past two years, building on its “Smart Photovoltaics + Tech‑Driven Agriculture” innovation project and in line with the fundamental principles of industry‑based poverty reduction—namely, decentralization, standardization, and replicability—the Group has further developed the “Photovoltaic Farm in Impoverished Villages” initiative. This approach delivers integrated, multi‑fold benefits—combining photovoltaic energy, agricultural production, and employment opportunities—to help impoverished villages achieve sustainable poverty alleviation.

China’s first county-level poverty‑alleviation photovoltaic farm project has broken ground in Lingbi County, Anhui Province.

Achieving poverty alleviation through industry‑cluster‑based, county‑wide initiatives. Zhongli has launched an industry‑cluster model centered on photovoltaic enterprises and, with Zhongli taking the lead in funding, established a “Photovoltaic Poverty‑Alleviation Industry Fund.” This fund will support the development of village‑level photovoltaic farms in 200 impoverished counties—covering roughly 20,000 impoverished villages. Ownership of these village‑level photovoltaic farms will rest with the local county governments, enabling impoverished villages to operate their own power plants and secure stable, long‑term income from photovoltaics, agriculture, employment, and other sources over a 25‑year period, thereby lifting communities out of poverty and into prosperity.

An innovative model for photovoltaic farms in impoverished villages. In the course of exploring ways to lift counties out of poverty, the Zhongli Agricultural Research Institute has assessed the future development trajectory of rural areas in need, drawing on technological innovation to help these villages build photovoltaic farms with capacities of 0.4 MW or less. By pioneering this new farm‑based approach and establishing “village‑enterprise cooperative” farms in partnership with village committees, the initiative is gradually transforming all farmland into modernized agricultural operations, with the aim of turning eligible impoverished towns and villages into attractive, distinctive, green PV‑powered communities. To date, demonstration projects have been launched in Changshu, Jiangsu; Guan County, Shandong; Huzhou, Zhejiang; and Hainan Prefecture, Qinghai. The crops and specialty agricultural products cultivated on these PV farms—such as rice, wheat, forage, traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, oil‑seed peonies, soilless cultivation, specialized livestock farming, ornamental flowers, and agritourism—have all received unanimous praise from local governments, providing a practical and sustainable pathway for farmers in impoverished villages to achieve stable incomes and escape poverty.

During the construction of a photovoltaic farm in Fengdu County, Chongqing.

Ensuring compliant operation of photovoltaic farms in impoverished villages. Member enterprises of the Photovoltaic Poverty Alleviation Alliance have established a technical operations and maintenance management company to provide technical oversight for the construction of photovoltaic farms in these villages, control project EPC costs, and adopt a unified tendering process—ensuring that the capital cost of poverty‑alleviation photovoltaic farms does not exceed that of standard solar power plants—while also delivering 25 years of technical operations and maintenance services for these farms.

We are earnestly advancing the construction of photovoltaic farm projects. At last year’s “October 17 Poverty Alleviation Forum,” we signed “county‑wide poverty‑alleviation” agreements with 15 impoverished counties on the spot. To date, we have secured such agreements for more than 40 impoverished counties, with a goal of extending this model to over 100 counties within the year. In November last year, the first village‑level photovoltaic farm project under the “county‑wide poverty‑alleviation” framework broke ground in Lingbi County, Anhui Province. To date, construction has commenced in over ten impoverished counties, including Lingbi (Anhui), Fengdu (Chongqing), Baicheng (Jilin), and Xuanhan (Sichuan), with plans to launch projects in more than 30 additional impoverished counties during the first half of this year. This approach has received high praise from governments at all levels in the targeted counties; at groundbreaking ceremonies, several village Party secretaries expressed heartfelt remarks, noting that this is genuine, results‑oriented poverty alleviation and expressing gratitude to the supporting enterprises.

Soilless cultivation of agricultural products on photovoltaic farms

Guaranteeing sales for photovoltaic farm products in impoverished villages. The industry alliance has established a specialized service platform and partnered with numerous internet and IoT companies to implement an online sales model. At the same time, it collaborates with governments at all levels in poverty-stricken counties, as well as with institutions, schools, hospitals, and other entities, to establish dedicated supply channels and enable offline sales. For specialty products such as traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, the alliance works with professional groups to organize joint exhibitions and, based on their specific needs, facilitates targeted cultivation. Guided by the principles of multi‑party cooperation and shared development, this approach ensures robust market access for photovoltaic farm products from impoverished villages, thereby realizing a model of co‑development between villages and enterprises.

Comprehensive poverty‑alleviation benefits from photovoltaic farms in impoverished villages. These farms employ “smart photovoltaic” mounting structures topped with plastic film canopies, significantly reducing both the land footprint and construction costs compared to traditional agricultural greenhouses. A 0.4 MW project in an impoverished village requires a total investment of approximately RMB 2.5 million. Based on the current national feed-in tariff, the annual revenue from solar power generation averages about RMB 470,000. Under a model where governments at all levels in poor counties provide no capital, after accounting for 15 years of equal principal and interest repayments as well as operation, maintenance, and management expenses, the village’s net annual income from photovoltaics exceeds RMB 200,000. In addition, when factoring in income from crop cultivation, livestock raising, and employment opportunities specific to each region, such projects can deliver stable, long-term public‑benefit returns to the village and help farmers escape poverty and achieve prosperity over a 25‑year period.

Cultivation of by-products from photovoltaic farms

Over the next three years, Zhongli Group’s industrial consortium will meticulously implement a program to lift 200 impoverished counties out of poverty on a county-by-county basis. It will also scale up the “Photovoltaic Farm in Impoverished Villages” initiative—featuring innovative technologies and business models—so that impoverished villagers can achieve prosperity and attain moderate prosperity at an early date.

Zhongli Group became a publicly listed company under the guidance of the Party’s reform and opening-up policies. As it has grown and pursued technological innovation, Zhongli has demonstrated both compassion and confidence in giving back to society. By leveraging technology, it enables impoverished villages to share in the fruits of reform and opening-up—marking a new model of corporate transformation and shared development with these communities—and thereby contributing to the nation’s efforts to achieve targeted poverty alleviation in rural areas.