China's first utility-scale solar-thermal power plant goes online

China's first large concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) plant, the 50-megawatt Delingha project built by CGN New Energy, came online on Wednesday, making China the eighth country to operate a generator of this type on a commercial scale.

The 50-megawatt Delingha concentrating solar-thermal power plant in Dalingha City, Qinghai Province. [File Photo: CCTV]

The power output from a solar-thermal power generation is more stable than photovoltaic power generation, said Li Yilun, the manager of CGN New Energy. "The process ensures stable and continuous power generation for 24 hours. The plant is also equipped with nine hours of molten salt thermal energy storage. Heat is transferred from the salt to the water in the steam generator."

The project in Dalingha City in Qinghai Province broke ground in August 2015. The plant, which has a two-and-a-half square kilometer field of reflectors to concentrate the heat used to generate electricity, was the first power station project in China to receive a low-interest loan from the Asian Development Bank.

The 50-megawatt Delingha concentrating solar-thermal power plant in Dalingha City, Qinghai Province. [File Photo: CCTV]

The plant is expected to generate up to 200 gigawatt hours of carbon-neutral electricity per year. Producing this amount of electricity by burning fossil fuels would generate around 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide and other emissions.

According to CGN New Energy, which is a subsidiary of China General Nuclear Power Corporation, the project also provides training in CSP plant construction and management.