The year of 2018 witnessed the rapid growth of concentrated solar power (CSP) industry in China, a total capacity of 215 MW new concentrated solar power (CSP) projects were finished, which is almost 7 times of the 30 MW capacity made before that year. Coming to the year of 2019 for China, we are happy to witness the successful completion of two more new-built concentrating solar power plants, including Luneng Haixi 50MW Molten Salt Tower Solar Thermal Project and Power China Gonghe 50MW Molten Salt Tower CSP Project. Moreover, Lanzhou Dacheng Dunhuang 50MW Molten Salt Fresnel Project will be connected to the grid very soon by the end of this year.
Up to date, five large-scale commercial concentrated solar power projects with total capacity of 300MW were in operation, of which 50MW takes parabolic trough CSP technology and 200MW takes molten salt power tower CSP route. Moreover, the 50MW Lanzhou Dacheng Dunhuang Fresnel Project is under the last-stage of construction and will join the completed ones quite soon.
The Chart below lists the projects:
Pic. Summary of China Large-scale Commercial Projects in operation or will be completed soon
Get fully learned of the current situation of China 1st batch of CSP demos and other projects, you may:
free download the 23-page report on China Large-scale CSP Projects Update (Nov-2019 Edition).
1. CGN Delingha 50MW Parabolic Trough CSP project—September 30, 2018
Free Report: CGN Delingha 50MW Parabolic Trough CSP Plant (July 2018 Edition)
2. Shouhang Dunhuang 100MW Molten Salt Tower CSP project—December 28, 2018
Free Report: Shouhang Dunhuang 100MW Molten Salt Tower CSP Plant (Dec 2018 Edition)
3. SUPCON Delingha 50MW Molten Salt Tower CSP project—December 30, 2018
Free Report: SUPCON Delingha 50MW Molten Salt Tower CSP Plant (Jan. 2019 Edition)
4. Power China Gonghe 50MW Molten Salt Tower CSP Project—September 19, 2019
Free Report: Power China Gonghe 50MW Molten Salt Tower CSP Plant (New)
5. Luneng Haixi 50MW Molten Salt Tower CSP Project—September 19, 2019
Free Report: Luneng Haixi 50MW Molten Salt Tower CSP Plant (July 2019 Edition)
With no doubt, China is becoming a major contributor in global CSP industrialization and evolution by continuously building new CSP projects since the year of 2018.
Looking back at the 1st batch of 20 demonstration CSP projects:
4 projects totaling 200MW completed– CGN Solar Delingha 50MW PT Project (Sep 30, 2018); Shouhang Dunhuang 100MW MS Tower Project (Dec 28, 2018); SUPCON Delingha50MW MS Tower Project (Dec 30, 2018); Power China Gonghe 50MW MS Tower Project (Sep 19, 2019).
6 projects are under construction with fast progress, with 2 Towers, 3 Troughs and 1 CLFR, and the total capacity of 350MW. They are applying for extension ranging from 6 month to 24 months, at the expense of FiT reduction, which are still under the regulatory evaluation and approval;
6 projects are still pending with little actual progress in the past three years, even though they claimed and promised to continue to projects;
4 projects were claimed cancelation at the beginning of 2018, after one year’s painful struggling.
Pic. Summary of China 1st Batch of CSP Pilot Projects in 2019
Get fully learned of the current situation of China 1st batch of CSP demos and other projects, you may:
free download the 23-page report on China Large-scale CSP Projects Update (Nov-2019 Edition).
As announced and provided by China National Energy Administration two years ago in 2016, only those pilot projects which would be able to be completed by the end of 2018 could enjoy the FiT of RMB1.5 per kWh. For fairness, the FiT will be surely reduced for the “delayed” projects, specifically speaking on the electricity price reduction mechanism: FiT for those with COD (Commercial Operation Date) by the year of 2019 will be RMB 1.14/kWh, only RMB 0.01/kWh lower than the benchmark price; and FiT for those with COD during the years of 2020 and 2021 will be RMB 1.10/kWh, a RMB 0.05/kWh lower gap.
| COD (Year) | FiT (RMB/CNY) |
| 2018 | 1.15/kWh |
| 2019 | 1.14/kWh |
| 2020–2021 | 1.10/kWh |
The policy is expected to be confirmed soon by China National Development and Reform Commission.
Looking forward to the year of 2020, the China CSP industry players will strive for the construction of around 10 CSP demonstration projects. Meanwhile, the continuous commissioning, operation & maintenance of the operational five commercial projects will be another crucial task.
As a leading global concentrated solar power (CSP) industry consultancy, CSP Focus will have the 10th Annual CSP Focus China brand event for the upcoming 2020 in Beijing on March 25-26. At the time of ten years’ anniversary, CSP Focus China 2020 conference & expo will create professional and comprehensive platform for China and global CSP industry peers to gather together, sharing global CSP project updates and innovative technologies, showcasing key components and services, visiting China operational CSP plants etc.
