claim: A photograph shows a panda-shaped solar farm in China.
origin: On 29 June 2017, Panda Green Energy Group Limited announcedÂ that its first panda bear-shaped solar power facility was officially connected to the grid in Datong Shanxi: < The worldâ€™s leading eco-development solutions provider, Panda Green Energy Group Limited (00686.HK, â€œPanda Green Energyâ€, formerly known as â€œUnited Photovoltaics Group Limitedâ€) is pleased to announce that the worldâ€™s first Panda Power Plant in Datong Shanxi was officially connected to the grid. > Several web sites started to aggregate this news; many included an image that was purportedly a photograph of the â€œsolar farmâ€. Â Some outlets, such as theÂ Telegraph, mentioned â€” correctly â€”Â that the image is an artistâ€™s rendering, but many others outlets shared it as aÂ photograph with no caption: This is not a photograph, but an artistâ€™s rendering that has been around since at least June 2016, months before construction even started on this plant in November of the same year. Although we have not identified the specific artist who created this concept, it was created in conjunction with a United Nations Development Program project promote sustainability: < The Panda Solar Stations base their appearance on Chinaâ€™s national treasure â€“ the Giant Panda. The 50 MW power plants cover a total area of 248 acres, with the black part composed of monocrystalline silicone and the grey and white part thin film solar cells.Â As the future of development, the youth have the opportunity to contribute to world-wide sustainable development. UNDP and China Merchants New Energy will work together to promote and popularize the promotion of new energy through summer camps and open innovation design contests. The initiatives aims to engage the youth of China and assist in developing the future leaders in the green energy field. [â€¦] UNDP tackles the toughest development challenges in the world and are committed to finding the best-fit solutions to those challenges. Innovation has been a key priority of UNDP with â€˜open challengesâ€™ providing a platform to encourage innovation. UNDP will organise an â€˜open design challengeâ€™ for creative and aspiring youth in China.Â Using renewable energy as the foundation and utilizing the expertise from China Merchants New Energy, the â€˜open challengeâ€™ will provide an unique environment encouraging co-creation which blends design, prototyping, and open-processes, aiming to support the achievement of SDGs in China with practical solutions to the growing need for affordable and clean energy whilst engaging the youth with sustainable development. > A similar design sketch showing a conceptual rendering of a panda solar plant in Fiji was also released by the Panda Green company: A spokesperson for UNDP China confirmed that the viral image was an artistâ€™s rendering and sent us an image captured by a drone showing the real solar panda farm: Â Â