Mongolia is feeling the effects of climate change more than most countries, with temperatures rising to twice the global average. One benefit of this has been even more solar energy, which is now being transformed into electricity. Mongolia’s first commercial solar plant is already supplying the central electricity grid.

Funded by Japan as part of a bilateral emissions reduction programme, it is seen as a big boost to Mongolia’s renewable-energy sector. This has caused a shift from coal to renewables, changing the lives of many nomadic families.

Japan’s electronics giant Sharp Corp. has built a megawatt-level solar power plant in Mongolia with two other partners. Construction of the project has started in the northern city of Darkhan.