This project is one of the first batch of large-scale wind and photovoltaic base projects in China, located within the Talatan Photovoltaic and Thermal Power Park in Gonghe County, Hainan Prefecture, Qinghai Province, which is one of the most solar-rich regions in China.
By 2024 China is building 30 Concentrated Solar Power Projects as part of gigawatt-scale renewable energy complexes in each province, appropriately reflecting the urgency and scale needed for climate action
Currently, many of China’s eastern regions rely on power generated and transmitted from the west. In recent years, China has shifted its focus from centralized solar farms to smaller-scale distributed solar projects, as photovoltaic research continues to improve the technology and lower its costs.
The first solar units from CHN Energy’s 1GW offshore PV project have connected to China’s energy grid. Developed by CHN Energy’s Guohua Energy Investment, the offshore PV project is located 8km off the eastern coast of the city of Dongying and spans approximately 1,223 hectares.
The plan seems to be working. Last year, China installed a record-breaking 87.4 GW of solar capacity, 59% more than in the previous year, according to China’s National Energy Administration. This takes the country’s total installed photovoltaic capacity to 392.6 GW.
Fishman, an energy analyst at the Lantau Group, an economic consultancy firm in Shanghai, was keen to meet with developers in Shandong to understand how China is developing extensive rooftop solar installations at such a remarkable pace.