EnergyPortal.eu

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Dunhuang City, in the northwest Gansu Province in China, is planning to build the largest centralized solar plant on earth, according to local government sources. The project will have an installed capacity of 100 MegaWatts, and costs are projected at about 6 billion yuan (~764 million U.S. dollars). Construction of the solar power station is expected to last five years. Currently, the most ambitious proposal for a centralized solar plant is the 62 MegaWatts plant in the south of Portugal. The largest solar station that is fully operation is only 5 MegaWatts, and located in Leipzig, Germany. This solar plant has 33,500 solar panels.

The city authorities have teamed up with the Zhonghao New Energy Investment (Beijing) Co., Ltd., and signed a letter of intent with this company. The plant will be constructed in the oasis town of Dunhuang, and cover a total area of 31,200 square meters. The town receives very large amounts of sunshine: 3,362 hours per year. Therefore, it is an attractive location for the development of solar power. Also, it has good access to power transmission.