China has inaugurated the world’s first dual-tower solar-thermal power plant in the Gobi Desert, marking a significant step in large-scale renewable energy development. Developed by Three Gorges Corporation, the facility combines innovative engineering with high-efficiency electricity generation in one of the planet’s most challenging environments. The Gobi Desert, spanning northern China and southern Mongolia, receives minimal annual rainfall of two to eight inches but benefits from more than 3,000 hours of sunlight each year, providing ideal conditions for solar power production.
The facility features two 200-meter-high towers, each surrounded by 27,000 heliostats—mirrors that concentrate sunlight onto the towers to produce intense heat. Temperatures at the focal points reach up to 1,058 degrees Fahrenheit (570 degrees Celsius), which is then stored in a high-temperature medium. This stored heat is used to generate steam that drives turbines, allowing electricity production to continue after sunset or during cloudy periods. Unlike conventional photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight directly into electricity, solar-thermal systems harness heat, making them capable of providing stable, dispatchable energy on demand. The dual-tower design increases efficiency by around 25 percent compared to single-tower systems, as each tower captures sunlight at different times of the day, with the east tower optimized for morning collection and the west tower for afternoon exposure.
By slightly overlapping the mirror fields, the project reduces the total number of heliostats required, cutting costs significantly since mirrors account for nearly 60 percent of the plant’s construction expenses. The facility forms part of a larger clean-energy hub in the region that includes extensive solar and wind farms. Together, these installations are expected to supply electricity to approximately 500,000 households annually. The project aligns with China’s ongoing strategy to expand renewable energy, particularly across western provinces such as Gansu, Xinjiang, and Qinghai, where solar and wind capacity has grown rapidly over the past decade.
China currently operates 21 commercial solar-thermal power plants with a combined capacity of 1.57 million kilowatts, while 30 additional projects under construction are expected to add roughly 3.1 million kilowatts. Experts view solar-thermal technology as complementary to photovoltaic systems, capable of bridging gaps in energy supply and providing dispatchable electricity when sunlight is not available. According to Wang Zhifeng, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Gobi Desert facility demonstrates how innovative engineering and strategic planning can deliver efficient, large-scale clean energy in harsh environments, further positioning China as a global leader in concentrated solar power deployment.
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