Concentrated solar power sees big leap

China has achieved a global technological breakthrough in the concentrated solar power (CSP) sector, successfully verifying the world's largest molten salt trough collector system, project developer China General Nuclear Power Corp (CGN) announced on Tuesday.

The technological validation of the 8.6-meter aperture molten salt trough collector equipment and process — the widest of its kind globally — was completed at the testing base of CGN in Delingha, Northwest China's Qinghai province.

The milestone marks China's comprehensive mastery of core molten salt trough collection technology, laying a solid foundation for the large-scale development of domestic concentrated solar power projects, it said.

Concentrated solar power technology, which integrates both peak-shaving power capabilities and long-duration energy storage, is becoming a vital pillar of China's emerging new power system, said industry experts.

According to a guideline released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration last year, China aims to bring its total concentrated solar power installed capacity to approximately 15 million kilowatts by 2030.

"The pilot platform, consisting of a trough collection system, a heat storage system, and a steam generation system, is currently the world's largest standard molten salt trough collector testing system in terms of aperture size," said Yin Hang, chief expert of concentrated solar power technology at CGN.

"China has reached an internationally leading level in the high-end clean energy field of concentrated solar power, promising a broader future for clean electricity and significantly enhancing the grid's peak-shaving guarantee capabilities."

While solar photovoltaics convert sunlight directly into electricity via semiconductor panels, delivering instant but intermittent power dependent on real-time sunshine, concentrated solar power captures solar radiation via large mirrors to heat molten salt, storing thermal energy for on-demand power generation even after sunset.

In the landscape of China's green energy transition, concentrated solar power has evolved from a niche experimental technology into a strategic "ballast stone" for the national power grid, said Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.

"Despite the explosive growth of photovoltaic and wind power in recent years, their intermittency poses challenges to grid stability. While PV provides low-cost energy during peak sunlight, the CSP molten salt tanks store heat to discharge during the evening peak," Lin said.

According to CGN, the core components of the system — including collector brackets, flexible connection assemblies, local controllers, and bracket precision surface detection devices — were developed by the company in collaboration with leading domestic enterprises, achieving 100 percent independent control of core technologies.

Tang Zhongfeng, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, highlighted the technical sophistication of the equipment, saying that the collector, local controller and the precision detection device have all reached world-class accuracy.

Since entering the concentrated solar power sector in 2011, CGN has built China's first large-scale commercial concentrated solar power demonstration plant and the nation's largest single-unit tower concentrated solar power project.

The company vows to continue to advance technical optimization and scientific research to accelerate the engineering application of large-aperture molten salt trough equipment, aiming to contribute to the high-quality development of China's concentrated solar power industry and the construction of a robust, modern energy system.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn