"The voltage and current of the communication cabinet are normal. The inverter is running normally with no abnormal noise. The lines are normal, undamaged, and properly connected."

In the summer on the plateau, every ten days or so, Liu Guangyao and Wang Haixin go to the photovoltaic power station in Gahai Village, Ganzihe Township, Haiyan County, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, by the shore of Qinghai Lake, to inspect the equipment operation and power generation.

In the photo, technicians inspect equipment operation at the photovoltaic power station. Photo by Ma Xueliang.

As technicians of Haiyan County Xinghui Photovoltaic Poverty Alleviation Co., Ltd., Liu Guangyao and Wang Haixin come two or three times a month to check whether equipment such as transformers, inverters, and communication cabinets is operating normally and whether voltage and current are normal, so as to ensure the normal operation and power generation of the station.

"This morning's power generation is not bad. One inverter has already converted 60 kWh, and there are 37 inverters in total, so more than 2,000 kWh can be converted in one morning," Liu Guangyao told the reporter, pointing to the main control computer.

In the photo, technicians check recent power generation. Photo by Ma Xueliang.

The photovoltaic poverty alleviation power station is located in the Gashawa area of Gahai Village, covers an area of 52 mu, and is the county's "13th Five-Year Plan" village-level photovoltaic poverty alleviation project issued in 2018, with a total investment of 12.14 million yuan and a total scale of 1.9 megawatts. It adopts a ground-mounted photovoltaic structure and is equipped with one 2-megawatt array and one 10 kV switching station. The land used is mainly barren grassland. The property rights of the project belong to 12 village collectives in Haiyan County.

At the main gate of the photovoltaic power station, an old photo shows what the place originally looked like: patches of desertified land made the grassland look mottled and barren. Now, green grass of varying heights has grown here, and walking among the rows of photovoltaic panels, the wind has also become weaker.

In the photo, technicians check equipment operation. Photo by Ma Xueliang.

"Gashawa here has strong winds and serious land desertification, making it very difficult for plants to grow. After the photovoltaic power station was built, things improved greatly. Look how well the grass is growing. It has not only improved our living environment but also increased our village collective's income by nearly 700,000 yuan cumulatively," said Zhaxi Labudan, Party branch secretary and village committee director of Gahai Village.

When it comes to the benefits of the photovoltaic power station, the villagers of Gahai Village opened up.

"With the photovoltaic power station built here, I can earn money right at my doorstep. I can take care of my family and not delay herding, and I can earn an extra 10,000 yuan a year," said Sonam Darje, a villager of Gahai Village.

It turned out that Sonam Darje's mother had chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and needed to take medicine year-round, which made life difficult. With the help of the village "two committees," he obtained a cleaner's job and a fixed income, and their lives gradually improved.

Ma Yinggui is a villager of Gahai Village. He is 54 this year and has diabetes, so he cannot do heavy work. He had been staying at home with no income. At the beginning of this year, he came to the photovoltaic power station to work as a duty officer, with a stable salary of 4,000 yuan per month.

"My job is to walk around the photovoltaic power station every morning and check whether the fence is damaged and whether cattle or sheep have gotten in. Registering visitors and preventing fire and theft are all part of my work," Ma Yinggui said.

In addition to these duties, Ma Yinggui goes to the main control room twice a day to take photos of the power generation and send them to the "Tianwei Haibei Project Operation and Maintenance Group," reporting the daily power generation in this way.

"Up to now, the station's cumulative power generation over five years has reached 17.1786 million kWh, with settled electricity fees of 13.15 million yuan, and 10.64 million yuan in income funds distributed to 12 villages in 3 townships. According to the fund management measures, 60% of the station's net income goes to the village collective economy, and 40% of the net income is mainly used to set up public welfare positions," introduced Qiao Yuanjie, project manager of Haiyan County Xinghui Photovoltaic Poverty Alleviation Co., Ltd. Over the past five years, through 8 public welfare positions, the project has arranged 42 long-term stable photovoltaic public welfare positions and spent 3.78 million yuan in photovoltaic income funds, increasing the monthly income of impoverished laborers by 1,500 yuan. It has arranged 63 dynamically adjusted temporary public welfare positions and spent 710,000 yuan in photovoltaic income funds, increasing the monthly income of impoverished laborers by 940 yuan.

"Now the battle against poverty has achieved a comprehensive victory, but the dividends we give to the village collectives and villagers will not be reduced. As long as the station continues to generate benefits, we will distribute dividends to them according to the regulations. Giving the masses one more source of income is our original intention, and helping them live a better life is our motivation," Qiao Yuanjie said.