Beijing’s Solar Panel Plan Plunges Chinese Farmers Into Heavy Debt

A general view of the solar modules of a newly installed 100MW photovoltaic on-grid power project in Dunhuang, China, on April 23, 2019. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

News Analysis

China’s overcapacity in solar power has been used by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in his poverty alleviation campaign—an ambitious project to get farmers to install solar panels. This project, which theoretically helps lift farmers out of poverty, has in many cases been proven to increase the debt burden of rural and remote areas.