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They may be late to the game, but at least they’ve come to play! China is about to break ground on a 1.5 megawatt (MW) solar-thermal plant just outside of Beijing, near the Great Wall. The plant will be able to supply energy enough to run 30,000 homes — a somewhat small plant, but what’s most exciting is that it’s the first solar thermal plant to be built in Asia.
The plant is one of China’s own design and has been designated the name Dahan, has cost about $14 million and will consume the amount of land equivalent to approximately 10 professionally-sized soccer fields.
The plant should be completed and running in 2010 with plans to expand it into a five to ten megawatt plant over the following five years. Dahan will not use solar panels to collect the sunshine it needs to make energy for local consumers; the solar-thermal design will use 100 curved heliostat mirrors to track the sun’s trajectory across the sky each day and direct it to the proper receiver. The receiver will then transform the energy into “superheated” steam, which has the ability to run electricity-generating turbines.
Although the first plant isn’t exactly up and running yet, the Chinese already have plans for a second, much larger solar-thermal plant. A German-run company, Solar Millenium, will be helping China design and construct a 1,000 MW plant in inner Mongolia. The date for this huge undertaking has not yet been set.
So…those are the basic facts, but what amazes me is that China is very green when it comes to solar technology (and I mean “new,” not eco-friendly - although, they’re getting there, too) and yet they are taking such bold strides. They currently have plans to have 10 percent of their total energy usage come from renewable energy sources by next year. Imagine what the addition of a 1,000 MW plant will do to that figure. That’s what I like about the Chinese government - clear, concise, time-effective decisions.
Photo Credit: omgtec.com
