China’s National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement that State Grid Ningxia Zhongwei Power Supply Co. has completed the first phase of a 3 GW solar plant near Zhongwei, a city in the Tengger Desert, in China’s Ningxia Hui region.
The project’s first phase has a capacity of 1 GW and required an investment of CNY 5.11 billion. Construction of the facility started in November.
The plant is connected to the ultra-high voltage power line Ningxia-Hunan ±800 kV UHV DC. The CNY 100 billion line stretches from Ningxia Hui to Hunan province. It will pass through Ningxia, Gansu, Shaanxi, Chongqing, Hubei and Hunan provinces.
The 3 GW project is currently the world’s second-largest PV plant under construction, following a 3.3 GW solar facility that state-owned China Huadian is currently building in Changdu, Sichuan province. It will require a total investment of around CNY 15.25 billion.
The government of Hunan said that the solar park is expected to produce 5.78 billion kWh per year upon full completion.
The world’s largest operational PV plant is currently a 2.2 GW facility that Chinese state-owned utility Huanghe Hydropower Development put into operation in October 2020. This project is also connected to an ultra-high voltage power line that State Grid Corp is building in China.
