China Switches On Its Northernmost Solar Thermal Power Plant in Frigid Jilin

China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) has connected its 100-megawatt Jixi solar thermal power plant to the grid in Da'an, Jilin province. It is Northeast China's first facility of its kind, and the country's northernmost solar thermal station, sitting at 45.36 degrees north latitude.

CGN stated that the project challenges the assumption that solar thermal technology only works in high-irradiation desert regions, showing it can operate reliably in extremely cold, high-latitude climates too.

The plant uses single-tower, single-mirror-field molten salt technology, where mirrors reflect sunlight to heat molten salt stored in insulated tanks. That stored heat later produces steam to drive a turbine.

According to CGN, the storage tanks are losing heat more slowly than expected, allowing stored energy to be used the same day or held over for later use depending on weather conditions.

A 40-megawatt molten salt electric heater lets the plant coordinate with two nearby CGN assets, a 260-megawatt wind farm and a 130-megawatt solar installation. Surplus electricity from both can be converted into stored heat instead of being curtailed.

The plant is expected to generate around 180 million kilowatt-hours annually, saving roughly 54,000 tonnes of standard coal and cutting carbon dioxide emissions by about 139,000 tonnes a year.

Sun Chuanwang, a professor at Xiamen University, said the project confirms solar thermal plants can deliver stable, round-the-clock power even in frigid, high-latitude regions.

China is targeting 15 gigawatts of installed solar thermal capacity by 2030, with further plants under construction in Gansu, Qinghai, and the Xizang Autonomous Region.