China’s northernmost solar thermal power plant is now online – in a frigid high‑latitude region!
China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) announced on 29 June 2026 that its Jixi 100-megaWatts (MW) solar thermal power plant, the country’s northernmost and the first of its kind in Northeast China, was connected to the grid and began generating electricity in Da’an, Northeast China’s Jilin Province.
This marks a major breakthrough in the application of solar thermal power generation technology in high-latitude, frigid regions, providing a replicable and scalable model for developing similar projects in comparable areas, and demonstrating that China now possesses the capability to build large-scale solar thermal power stations in extremely cold environment, the company said in a statement sent to the Global Times.
As one of the country’s first batch of integrated “wind, solar, thermal and storage” demonstration projects in desert and Gobi regions, the solar thermal plant is equipped with a 40-MW molten salt electric heater, enabling effective coordination with the adjacent CGN Jixi 260-MW wind power project and 130-MW photovoltaic project already in operation.
This linkage allows surplus electricity generated by wind and solar power to be converted into thermal energy and stored, effectively mitigating curtailment of wind and solar power when power generation outstrips demand, improving the overall efficiency of energy utilization, the company said.
Upon full operation, the plant is expected to generate 180 million kWh of electricity annually, equivalent to saving about 54,000 tons of standard coal and reducing CO₂ emissions by about 139,000 tons.
Sources:
China Focus, June 30, 2026.
Global Times, June 30, 2026. https://peoplesdaily.pdnews.cn/business/er/30052521529
