World’s 1st dual-tower solar plant to make 1.8 billion kWh yearly

China has reportedly developed the world’s first dual-tower solar thermal plant near Guazhou County in Gansu Province to enhance efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

The plant will use solar heat instead of coal to convert water to high-pressure steam, which is used to rotate turbines and generate electricity. 

To achieve that, power company China Three Gorges Corporation claims to have combined two adjacent heat-absorbing towers sharing a steam turbine generator. Nearly 30,000 heliostat mirrors are installed on the towers, covering an 800,000-square-meter light-collecting area.

The mirrors are crafted from special materials with a reflection efficiency of up to 94%. 

The two towers, each 200 meters tall, have mirrors that form two vast, overlapping circles. These circles focus sunlight onto each tower, as reported by the state-owned China Global Television Network (CGTN).

Molten salt power generation

The design of the new power plant uses molten salt to produce power at night when the sun is unavailable. 

Molten salt stored in the towers functions as a thermal battery, storing excess heat during the day and releasing it to keep the generators running continuously, according to CGTN.

China started exploring solar thermal power in 2016, and this new project, with its dual-tower design, is taking it a step further. 

“The mirrors in the overlapping area can be utilized by either tower. This configuration is expected to enhance efficiency by 24 percent,” said Wen Jianghong, plant project manager, to CGTN.

The mirrors track the sun’s movement, concentrating its rays on the eastern tower in the morning and automatically adjusting westward in the afternoon.

China claims that this design is not limited to the two towers; it has the potential to involve multiple towers for even greater efficiency gains. The plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2024.

1.8 billion electricity production kWh annually

The plant is part of a clean energy complex consisting of solar, thermal, and wind power plants that will collaborate to produce over 1.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually and prevent the emission of 1.53 million tonnes of carbon, as per CGTN. 

In June, China announced that it had opened the world’s biggest solar power plant to the grid in northwestern Xinjiang. 

The plant covers an area of 33,000 acres (200,000 Chinese mu) and is reported to have an output of 6.09 billion kWh annually.

Data released by China’s National Agency in January revealed that the country’s solar electric power generation capacity grew by a staggering 55.2 percent in 2023. 

The numbers highlight over 216 gigawatts (GW) of solar power China built during the year. That’s more than the United States’ entire solar fleet.

China has also plans to combine solar with hydroelectric and wind power production. 

China’s focus on solar energy is part of its aim to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060. The government committed to constructing 1,200 GW of renewable capacity by 2030 to support these goals.

At this rate, China is currently set to achieve this target, which is an impressive five years ahead of schedule. The significant rise in solar power is also accompanied by a 20.7 percent increase in wind power generation capacity, demonstrating the country’s dedication to clean energy.