China commissioned its huge solar power plant in the desert

China has been making record investments in renewable energy sources in recent years. One of the most important of these investments was recently connected to the grid. Located in China’s Tengger Desert, this facility was the country’s first facility to be built and commissioned in arid areas. The facility, some of which has already been commissioned, is also the second largest solar power plant in the world and China.

Another milestone from China

China has connected the first phase of its solar and wind project in the Tengger Desert, located at the southern tip of the Gobi Desert, to the grid. With the Tengger Desert project, China aims to reach a total solar energy capacity of 3 GW. The first leg of the project, which was commissioned, has a capacity of 1GW. This portion will produce 1.8 billion kilowatt-hours of energy each year, equivalent to the electricity demand of 1.5 million households each year. While the total investment of the projects in this region will be 12.28 billion dollars, the total installed power will be 13 million kW. When the solar power plant is put into operation at full capacity, it will produce 5.78 billion kilowatt-hours of energy per year.

Currently, the world’s largest operating solar power plant is located in China, with a capacity of 2.2 GW. The new facility, located in the Tengger Desert, is currently the second largest solar power plant in the world. On the other hand, China’s total renewable energy installed power reached 1.26 billion kilowatt-hours in the first quarter. Of this, 425 million kilowatt-hours were obtained from solar energy and 376 million kilowatt-hours of wind energy.