China's first solar thermal power plant in Northeast China starts operation

China's first concentrated solar thermal (CSP) power plant in the northeast region of China has started operations in Da'an, Jilin Province. The 100-megawatt facility uses thousands of heliostat mirrors and liquid salt heat storage to generate electricity stably for up to 24 hours. Photo: CGN/Yicai Global.

China operates the first concentrated solar power plant or CSP in the northeast region. The 100-megawatt capacity project stands in Da'an, Jilin Province, and is the northernmost plant of its kind in China.

Citing Yicai Global, Tuesday, June 30, this project owned by China General Nuclear Power Group or CGN uses a single tower system with liquid salt heat storage.

The way it works is different from ordinary PV. A total of 19,667 heliostats, which are high-precision mirrors that track the sun, reflect light onto heat receivers at the top of a 210-meter-tall tower. The heat produces super-high-pressure steam to spin an electric turbine.

The excess heat is stored in a liquid salt tank. With this system, the plant can operate stably for 24 hours, including when the sun is not shining.

Jiang Tonghai, Chairman of CGN Jilin New Energy Investment, said the CSP plant is expected to generate 180 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. The project can also reduce standard coal consumption by about 54,000 tons and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 139,000 tons per year.

Green electricity from Jilin will be sent more than 1,000 kilometers through an ultra-high voltage transmission network to Shandong Province, an area with large energy needs.

CGN said the project is China's first pilot project that combines wind power, photovoltaic, CSP, and energy storage in desert and barren land.

The plant is also equipped with a 40 MW liquid salt electric heater. This facility can work together with the 260 MW wind project and the 130 MW photovoltaic project owned by CGN in the surrounding area.

When the production of electricity from wind and photovoltaic exceeds demand, excess power is converted into heat and stored in a liquid salt tank. In this way, excess energy can be reused when the network needs a supply.

The advantage of CSP is in its energy storage. Unlike wind and photovoltaic power, which depend on weather, CSP can supply more stable electricity and help the network during peak loads.

This plant is built on a saline-alkali grassland at a latitude of 45.36 degrees north. The location is rich in wind and sunlight, but the natural conditions are harsh.

Zhao Xiong, the person in charge of the CGN Jixi CSP project company, said the project site faces a minimum temperature of minus 37.3 degrees Celsius and winds up to Level 9. Construction must also deal with saline-alkali soil, high groundwater levels, and heavy clay soil.

According to Zhao, during construction, CGN developed building solutions that can be reused in very cold regions and areas with difficult geological conditions.

China plans to build a number of CSP plants in regions rich in solar resources, including Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Xizang. The target is for the national installed capacity of CSP to exceed 15 gigawatt by 2030.

Data from the National Energy Administration shows that China added 940 MW of new CSP capacity last year. Total capacity rose to 1.8 GW. Annual electricity production from CSP also increased by 32 percent to 1.6 billion kilowatt-hours.