Investor believes 'useless' Gobi Desert is the key to bountiful and money-saving clean energy

The Gobi Desert is deathly hot during the day, bitterly cold at night, mostly devoid of vegetation, and nearly waterless. By any common metric, the land can be seen as worthless. So why does a Chinese investor with a net worth of three billion dollars think a desert that he called “useless” can provide the world with bountiful, cheap, clean energy?

Lei Zhang, a Chinese billionaire philanthropist and chairman of the Hillhouse Investment private equity firm, hosted a TED Talk explaining how implementing and investing in high-tech, high-yield solar and wind power generation in the Gobi Desert and other similar largely uninhabited desert areas could provide “more energy than we need” for laypersons and businesses alike.

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“I believe this could be the new space of our civilization,” said Zhang in his TED Talk. “When people see ‘useless,’ ‘barrenness,’ ‘emptiness,’ I see ‘abundance.’”

Zhang believes the “strong wind and the shining sun” of the Gobi Desert can power up fields upon fields of solar panels and windmill electric generators. Incorporating that with A.I.-driven orchestration, he believes we could develop large-scale, off-grid renewable energy systems without the need for costly long-distance transmission lines. To maximize the use of locally generated electricity, Zhang proposes the creation of net-zero industrial parks that produce batteries, green hydrogen, green ammonia, and other energy-intensive products that can power us. He believes that this type of investment could bring “next-level prosperity” to the world.

A Yale University graduate, Zhang’s Hillhouse manages one of the largest portfolios in all of Asia and has been one of the top money-generating private equity firms over the last 20 years. Zhang credits long-term investing, developing investment projects, and nurturing new talent as key factors in Hillhouse’s success. In short, while Zhang’s plan also significantly reduces climate change by embracing green energy, it also caters to corporate interests by saving money on energy expenses while generating new business opportunities. To Zhang, investing in a massive sea of solar panels and wind farms in hot desert areas that don’t impede local housing is a win-win for both environmentalists and profiteers alike.

Zhang’s claim of green energy being less costly holds significant weight. While some argue that the cost of electricity would increase if we were to rely exclusively on solar and wind power, the International Renewable Energy Agency found evidence to suggest that 90% of renewable energy sources are less costly than fossil fuels, both in terms of price and environmental impact. There is also an active solar power plant in the Mojave Desert that also incorporates wind farms to provide energy to parts of California, backing up the practicality of Zhang’s vision on a smaller scale.

A possible drawback would be the removal of government incentives that encourage utility companies and businesses to invest in green energy over fossil fuels, which would make initial investments more expensive in the short term and delay any long-term benefits to their bottom line. That said, a 2022 report from the United Nations noted that investment in renewable energy sources resulted in $55 billion in global energy cost savings worldwide.

It will be interesting to see if Zhang’s vision gains momentum and investment from those who want to invest in a better climate outlook, along with a more favorable financial future.