World’s Largest Solar Thermal Plant Breaks Ground in Qinghai
Construction has officially begun on the world’s largest single-unit thermal storage solar thermal power plant in Qinghai province, marking a significant milestone in China’s renewable energy ambitions. The CGN Golmud 350 MW Solar Thermal Demonstration Project, located in the Wutumeiren Photovoltaic & Solar Thermal Park in Golmud City, broke ground on June 16, according to People’s Daily.
A Record-Breaking Facility
The project boasts a total mirror field area of 3.7 million square meters — equivalent to 518 standard football fields — comprising three tower mirror fields of 1.1 million square meters each and one trough mirror field of 400,000 square meters. Developed by China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), the facility employs molten salt tower-trough hybrid technology and is expected to generate 1 billion kWh of electricity annually upon completion.
What sets this project apart is its 15-hour large-capacity molten salt storage system, with a storage capacity of 11,747 MWh — the world’s largest single-unit thermal storage capacity. This enables stable, dispatchable power generation and provides exceptional grid flexibility, allowing the plant to support larger-scale integration of intermittent wind and solar photovoltaic sources.
Domestic Innovation at the Core
A defining feature of the project is its 100% domestically controlled technology. The trough mirror field uses CGN’s independently developed 8.6-meter large-aperture trough collector, which completed technical verification on April 21 at the Delingha solar thermal test base. As Yicai (First Financial) reported, the collector achieves a concentration ratio of 107.5 times, operating stably from 290°C inlet to 550°C outlet, with a thermal storage temperature difference of 260°C — 2.6 times that of traditional heat transfer oil systems.
“The complete set of core components — including collector supports, flexible connection components, local controllers, and support precision surface shape detection devices — were all developed by CGN leading domestic industry chain enterprises, achieving 100% independent control of core technologies,” Ding Yeliang, Deputy General Manager of CGN New Energy Holdings Co., Ltd., told reporters.
Environmental and Economic Impact
The environmental benefits are substantial. Once operational, the plant will save 320,000 tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 860,000 tons annually, according to Guangming Daily. This directly supports China’s carbon neutrality goals and demonstrates a replicable model for large-scale solar thermal development.
Policy Backing and Industry Momentum
The project aligns closely with China’s national energy strategy. The Energy Law of the People’s Republic of China, which took effect on January 1, 2025, explicitly calls for actively developing solar thermal power generation. In December 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the “Opinions on Promoting Large-Scale Development of Solar Thermal Power Generation,” setting a target of 15 GW of installed solar thermal capacity by 2030, with levelized electricity costs roughly equivalent to coal power.
Industry data underscores the sector’s rapid growth. According to the National Energy Administration, new solar thermal power installed capacity reached 940 MW in 2025 — a 203% year-on-year increase — while total national installed capacity reached 1,820 MW by December 2025, up 107% year-on-year. Solar thermal power generation reached 1.6 billion kWh in 2025, a 32% increase from the previous year.
CGN’s Solar Thermal Track Record
CGN has been a pioneer in China’s solar thermal sector since 2011, operating the only national-level R&D platform in the field: the National Energy Solar Thermal Power Technology R&D Center. The company has completed several landmark projects, including the Delingha 50 MW solar thermal demonstration project, the Delingha 1 GW solar thermal-storage integrated project, and the Jixi 100 MW tower solar thermal plant. It is also constructing the world’s highest-altitude trough solar thermal plant in Tibet’s Wumatang region.
Broader Implications
The Golmud project represents more than a single power plant — it provides a scalable “CGN solution” that can be replicated across China’s vast western regions. As China Energy News noted, the project demonstrates that construction costs per kW have dropped from approximately 30,000 yuan a decade ago to 15,000 yuan, while electricity costs have fallen to around 0.6 yuan/kWh.
Looking ahead, the project is a key stepping stone toward China’s 2030 target of 15 GW of solar thermal capacity, an effort expected to drive approximately 170 billion yuan in new investment. With continued cost reductions and technological refinement, solar thermal power is positioning itself as a cornerstone of China’s clean energy future.
What to Watch
As construction progresses, industry observers will be watching for further cost reductions, improvements in thermal storage efficiency, and the replication of this model across other provinces. The project’s success could accelerate China’s transition from coal-dependent baseload power to a cleaner, more flexible grid anchored by solar thermal technology.