January 02, 2024
By Emiliano Bellini

China Three Gorges commissions 3.48 GW of new solar capacity

China Three Gorges Corp., a Chinese state-owned power company, connected 3.48 GW of solar to the grid at seven sites in the final week of December. The projects include China’s largest floating PV plant – a 650 MW facility in Anhui province – and two PV plants with capacities of 1 GW and 900 MW.

A 200 MW PV facility in China - Image: China Three Gorges

Three Gorges Energy, a unit of China Three Gorges Corp., switched on 3.48 GW of solar in the final week of December. One of the PV facilities – located near Golmud, Qinghai province – has a capacity of 900 MW.

It is part of a 2.1 GW solar project that includes 200 MW of concentrated solar power (CSP), which is part of a 100 GW wind-PV project that Chinese President Xi Jinping announced at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in December 2022.

Golmud solar plant - Image: China Three Gorges

China Three Gorges also connected 1 GW of solar in the Kubuqi Desert, near Ordos, in North China's Inner Mongolia region. The facility is connected to 150 MW/300 MWh of battery storage. The plant is the first batch of a 16 GW hybrid wind-solar power project that includes 8 GW of PV and 6 GW of wind capacity.

The 1 GW Kubuqi Desert solar plant - Image: China Three Gorges

The third China Three Gorges project is China's largest floating PV plant – a 650 MW installation in Fuyang, Anhui province. The plant is located on an unused water surface in a former coal mining area. It is part of a hybrid project that includes 550 MW of wind power and 300 MW/600 MWh of battery storage.

Floating PV in Fuyang, Anhui province - Image: China Three Gorges

China Three Gorges has also commissioned a 200 MW PV power plant in Gansu province. The facility is part of a 700 MW hybrid project that includes 400 MW of wind power and 100 MW of CSP. Thus far, only the wind and PV facilities have been connected to the grid.

A 200 MW PV project in Gansu province - Image: China Three Gorges

In addition, China Three Gorges has connected three solar plants to the grid in Yunnan province. Its Three Gorges Energy unit deployed the projects in mountainous areas. One of the facilities, in Yuanmou County, has an installed capacity of 450 MW.

A 450 MW solar project in Yuanmou County - Image: China Three Gorges

The other two projects are a 188 MW facility in Yongren County and a 100 MW solar farm in Dayao County.

A 100 MW solar array in Dayao County

A 188 MW solar plant in Yongren County - Image: China Three Gorges