The world’s largest solar power plant consisting of over 5 million panels will be launched in China: “It looks really cool”

The title “world’s largest” is often shorthand for wind and solar farms around the world because they exceed established limits on turbine height, number of panels, or efficiency.

Now, a subsidiary of China Green Development Investment Group has launched the “world’s largest” solar power plant, a 3.5-gigawatt installation in the Xinjiang region, as reported by PV Magazine. Referred to as the Xinjiang Midong solar project, it has more than 5.26 million panels, according to the news agency. For comparison, a gigawatt can power 100 million LED bulbs.

Reuters reported that the 32,947-acre solar farm in Xinjiang, which came online on June 3, will generate about 6.09 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually – enough to power Papua New Guinea for a year, according to the news site.

According to the organization’s website, the developer is a state-owned company with wind and/or solar projects in 12 provinces.

“We stick to the philosophy of ‘people-oriented, ecology as the root and culture as the soul’,” we read on the website.

According to PV Magazine, the new facility was built in stages and cost an investment of 15.45 billion Chinese yuan (about $2.13 billion). It contains monocrystalline double-sided glass photovoltaic panels and 200 km of transmission lines.

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Solar photovoltaic power generated about 4.5% of global electricity in 2022, behind hydro and wind. Solar power grew by 26%, with China adding about 38% of new capacity in 2022. The European Union and the United States accounted for 17% and 15% growth, respectively, according to the International Energy Agency.

China seems to have the perfect ground for such operations. A photo of the site shared by PV Magazine shows rows of solar panels embedded in the desert scenery, stretching as far as the eye can see.

“This proves we don’t have to classify valuable land to install panels,” one reader commented on the PV Magazine story.

Innovations in photovoltaic technology are helping large companies in this sector grow and home installations are becoming cheaper. Additionally, community solar projects enable the use of clean energy without the need to have a single panel on the property. They often include a subscription model that can provide anywhere from 5% to 20% savings on energy bills annually.

Importantly, switching to solar power could prevent the burning of 8,500 pounds of planet-warming air pollutants each year. Reducing emissions could curb the world’s heating, which has an impact in surprising places. Some reports suggest that rising temperatures are even affecting school attendance and grades.

In response, solar innovation continues to be bigger than ever, with some very unique designs. In a project in the Gobi Desert, thousands of mirrors focus light on a central point, generating heat that turns into steam to power a turbine.

China Development aims to have more than 20 gigawatts of renewable energy installed by the end of the year. They have just launched a large part of the order in Xinjiang.

“Looks really cool,” a reader added in his comments.

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