China’s 50MW Solar Thermal Plant Connects to Grid in Tibet
Connecting the first generator at an altitude of 4,300 meters on the Tibetan plateau, a 50-megawatt solar thermal power plant links to the electrical grid, aitimes.com reported on Saturday.
The project stores solar electricity as heat for nighttime generation and heating.
China General Nuclear Power Group announced that the 25-megawatt first generator at the Ngari Plateau Zero-Carbon Optical Storage, Thermal Storage, and Power Generation Pilot Project in Gar County successfully completed its first grid connection on November 6. The facility is the highest-altitude solar thermal power plant connected to a power grid, aitimes.com reported.
Project Requires 2.4 Billion Yuan Investment for Power Generation
The overall project requires a total investment of 2.4 billion yuan, equivalent to roughly 4784 billion won, with a total power generation capacity of 150 megawatts, aitimes.com reported. Out of that total capacity, a 100-megawatt photovoltaic plant has already completed full grid connection.
The 50-megawatt solar thermal plant consists of two 25-megawatt steam turbine generators. Construction on the solar thermal facility began in July 2024, culminating in the first generator’s recent grid connection, while the second generator targets grid integration before the end of the year.
Unlike standard concentrated solar power plants that use mirrors to focus sunlight directly into heat, this installation converts power produced by a separate photovoltaic system into heat. Electricity from an independent solar array feeds a molten salt electric heating device with a rated capacity of 205 megawatts, aitimes.com reported.
Molten Salt Stores Heat for 14-Hour Energy Generation
The system stores energy inside high-temperature molten salt. During the night or periods of high power demand, this stored heat generates steam to drive turbines, aitimes.com reported.
Engineers designed the molten salt thermal storage facility for a 14-hour storage baseline, alongside an asynchronous integration device utilizing lithium-ion batteries. The setup regulates standard power distribution on the grid while maintaining the capacity to rapidly switch to an independent power source during specialized operational conditions.
Stored heat in the molten salt will also support regional district heating during winter months. Construction contractor PowerChina reported that the project includes auxiliary infrastructure intended to supply heat to approximately 1.5 million square meters of buildings, aitimes.com reported.
Projected Annual Electricity Generation Reduces Carbon Dioxide Emissions
CGN projects that upon full completion, the entire project will generate approximately 270 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 168,200 tons per year, aitimes.com reported. National Energy Administration figures show that China’s cumulative solar thermal installed capacity reached 2.32 gigawatts at the end of September, marking a 43 percent increase compared to the previous year. The Chinese government aims to expand solar thermal capacity to roughly 15 gigawatts by 2030.
“This power plant is the first in the world to apply a technological approach combining photovoltaics, molten salt electric heaters, and asynchronously integrated energy storage,” Ding Hongliang, the project director for CGN New Energy’s Ngari project, told aitimes.com. Ding added that the project utilizes a self-developed distributed control system for solar thermal generation for the first time, with the molten salt electric heating device reaching a capacity of 205,000 kilowatts.