Chi a
has
completed
the
co st uctio
of
the
wo ld’s
highest
sola
the mal
pla t
o
the
Qi ghai-Xiza g
Plateau,
located
at
the
height
of
15,258
feet
i
Amdo
Cou ty.
The
100
megawatt
(MW)
p oject
is
desig ed
to
ope ate
i
a
e vi o me t
cha acte ised
by
st o g
wi ds,
sub-ze o
tempe atu es,
a d
high
ult aviolet
adiatio .
Acco di g
to
i fo matio
eleased
by
CGTN,
the
Tushuo
pla t
has
become
the
highest-altitude
co ce t ated
sola
the mal
facility
eve
built
i
the
wo ld.
It
is
also
the
fi st
towe -type
sola
the mal
pla t
developed
i
this
egio .
It
has
i stalled
15,927
mi o s,
called
heliostats
that
occupy
app oximately
800,000
squa e
mete s
a d
eed
to
di ect
sola
adiatio
to
vi tually
the
same
poi t:
a
eceive
i stalled
atop
a
210-mete -high
towe .
He e,
the
co ce t atio
of
e e gy
aises
the
tempe atu e
of
molte
salts
to
app oximately
1,040°F.
A
system
made
up
of
ea ly
16,000
mi o s
The
p i ciple
of
this
sola
pla t
is
diffe e t
f om
that
fou d
i
photovoltaic
sola
pa ks
a ou d
the
wo ld.
I stead
of
di ectly
co ve ti g
su light
i to
elect icity,
the
Chi ese
i stallatio
fi st
t a sfo ms
sola
adiatio
i to
the mal
e e gy.
Each
heliostat
t acks
the
su ’s
appa e t
motio
a d
co ti uously
adjusts
its
positio .
The
goal
is
to
keep
the
eflected
light
focused
o
the
eceive
at
the
top
of
the
towe .The
accumulated
heat
is
t a sfe ed
to
molte
salts,
which
ca
late
be
used
to
p oduce
steam.
This
steam
d ives
tu bi es
co ected
to
elect ic
ge e ato s,
i
a
a chitectu e
that
at
the
fi al
ge e atio
stage
bea s
simila ities
to
a
co ve tio al
the moelect ic
powe
pla t.It
is
p ecisely
at
this
poi t
that
the
tech ology
gai s
st ategic
impo ta ce.
A
co ve tio al
photovoltaic
i stallatio
d astically
educes
its
output
whe
sola
adiatio
disappea s.
I
a
sola
the mal
pla t
with
the mal
sto age,
pa t
of
the
e e gy
collected
du i g
the
day
emai s
sto ed
i
the
fo m
of
heat.
I
the
Amdo
p oject,
the
system
is
desig ed
to
p ovide
eight
hou s
of
the mal
sto age.I
p actice,
the
pla t
will
be
able
to
co ti ue
supplyi g
elect icity
eve
afte
su set.
Fo
elect ical
systems
that
i c easi gly
eceive
la ge
volumes
f om
i te mitte t
e ewable
sou ces,
this
capability
is
as
valuable
as
the
i stalled
capacity:
it
is
ot
e ough
to
p oduce
a
lot
of
e e gy;
it
is
ecessa y
to
shift
some
of
that
p oductio
to
the
times
whe
it
is
eeded.
A
e gi ee i g
ma vel
The
altitude
that
makes
this
Chi ese
pla t
sta d
out
a d
become
a
eco d
holde
was
also
o e
of
the
g eatest
challe ges
fo
the
p oject.
Buildi g
a
facility
of
this
mag itude
o
the
plateau
mea s
deali g
with
st o g
wi ds,
pe siste t
cold,
a d
i te se
ult aviolet
adiatio .
Additio ally,
a
field
composed
of
thousa ds
of
la ge
eflective
su faces
p ese ts
a othe
challe ge:
the
mi o s
must
withsta d
the
weathe
co ditio s
without
losi g
the
p ecisio
eeded
to
di ect
light
to
the
eceive .The
team
developed
lightweight,
yet
highly
igid
heliostat
suppo ts
specifically
to
withsta d
wi d
loads.
The
sola
t acki g
mecha ism
was
also
desig ed
with
ext emely
small
mecha ical
tole a ces.
The
mi o s
themselves
we e
t eated
with
coati gs
esista t
to
ult aviolet
adiatio ,
a
co ce
especially
eleva t
i
high-altitude
egio s.To
ma ufactu e
the
compo e ts
fo
the
sola
field,
a
fully
automated
p oductio
li e
fo
heliostats
was
impleme ted.
Acco di g
to
i fo matio
eleased
about
the
p oject,
this
is
the
fi st
facility
of
its
ki d
ope ati g
at
such
a
high
altitude.
Its
capacity
eaches
6,000
squa e
mete s
of
heliostats
pe
day.
The
outcome
ca
ow
be
obse ved
i
the
sola
field.
The e
a e
ea ly
16,000
u its
wo ki g
i
coo di atio
a ou d
the
ce t al
towe .
225
millio
kWh
pe
yea
The
pla t
is
expected
to
be
co ected
to
the
powe
g id
by
Octobe
2026.
Whe
ope atio al,
the
p oject’s
leade s
a ticipate
achievi g
a
a ual
ge e atio
of
app oximately
255
millio
kilowatt-hou s
(kWh).
This
volume
would
be
sufficie t,
acco di g
to
the
disclosed
estimates,
to
powe
a ou d
50,000
homes.Develope s
also
estimate
that
p oductio
could
eplace
the
co sumptio
of
app oximately
60,000
to s
of
coal
a ually,
avoidi g
the
emissio
of
about
165,000
to s
of
ca bo
dioxide
each
yea .With
100
MW
of
ge e ati g
capacity,
eight
hou s
of
the mal
sto age,
a d
p ojected
a ual
ge e atio
i
the
hu d eds
of
millio s
of
kWh,
Amdo
also
acts
as
a
comme cial-scale
test
fo
a
tech ology
aimi g
to
tackle
o e
of
the
most
well-k ow
limitatio s
of
sola
ge e atio .