Aiming to implement the decisions and arrangement for winning the battle against poverty and earnestly fulfill the responsibilities as a central state-owned enterprise (SOE), CECEP Solar Energy Technology (East China) has long been committed to taking practical measures and applying multiple methods to facilitate targeted poverty alleviation.
Before the Changxing Project of CECEP Solar Energy Technology, the farmers in Yantao Village of Changxing County, Zhejiang Province, mainly depended on the local natural resources and their incomes were quite low. Zhong Bo, manager of the Changxing Project, and his team enlarged local fish ponds and built standardized ones. However, the solar panels blocked sunlight to the fish ponds and lowered the water temperature, which hampered the growth of fish in the ponds. Zhong Bo then found that the low-temperature environment was more suitable for crayfish and thus encouraged local farmers to cultivate crayfish.
At present, the crayfish cultivated by the Changxing Project has become a famous brand. In order to help local poor households and low-income people, farmers also started a cooperative and mutual assistance model. By providing free shrimp seedlings to neighboring farmers and repurchasing them after the shrimps have grown big enough, farmers no longer have to worry about sales. Crayfish has become a treasure that helps local farmers out of poverty.
After completing the first phase of the project, Zhong Bo built an agricultural greenhouse on a plot of barren land. Farmers could cultivate plants inside the greenhouse while the panels above generate electricity, which increased the per-mu yield from no more than 1,000 yuan to 35,000 yuan.
On the basis of photovoltaic power generation, Changxing Project has expanded to plant Dendrobium officinale, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, and develop cultural tourism, aiming to improve the industrial chains of electricity, agriculture and fishery. Relying on the three integrated industries, local villagers can not only make money by breeding animals and planting crops, but also earn the land rent of 800 yuan for per mu. The project has created more than 100 jobs for local people.
