The winter of Shiquan River comes early, and as soon as the sun sets, the wind drills down the valley into the bones. In previous years, there were no people on the streets at this time. By 2026, there will be pots of hot molten salt on the outskirts of the town. The electricity will not stop at night, and the radiators will not cool down.

Store the sun in salt

On November 6, 2026, CGN Ali Snow Region Plateau Zero Carbon Solar Storage Thermal Power Demonstration Project 50000 kW Solar Thermal Power Station will be connected to the grid for the first time, becoming the highest grid connected solar thermal power station in the world at present, and the first solar thermal project in Xizang to be connected to the grid for power generation. The power station is located in Shiquanhe Town, Gar County, Ali Prefecture, with an average altitude of 4300 meters. The total investment is about 2.4 billion yuan and the total installed capacity is 150000 kilowatts. Among them, the 100000 kW photovoltaic power station has been fully connected to the grid, and the 50000 kW photovoltaic thermal power station will start construction in July 2024. It will be equipped with off grid photovoltaics, molten salt electric heaters, 14 hour molten salt heat storage systems, lithium battery asynchronous interconnection devices, and two 25000 kW steam turbine generator sets dedicated to molten salt electric heating systems. The first turbine generator unit is connected to the grid this time, and the second unit will be connected to the grid within 2026. The electricity generated by photovoltaics during the day is converted into heat energy by a molten salt electric heater and stored in high-temperature molten salt, which is then continuously supplied with electricity and heating by a steam generation system day and night. The capacity of the molten salt electric heater in this configuration is 205000 kilowatts, the highest in the world for solar thermal power plants; The project is also the world's first solar thermal power station to adopt the technology route of photovoltaic plus molten salt electric heater plus asynchronous interconnected energy storage, and is controlled by a self-developed solar thermal DCS system for the first time. The power station can also operate in both grid connected and off grid modes, quickly switching to an independent power source under special working conditions to maintain regional core loads.Keywords: solar thermal power station, molten salt thermal storage

Herdsmen put on work clothes

According to estimates, after the project is fully completed and put into operation, the annual power generation will be about 270 million kilowatt hours, equivalent to saving about 74200 tons of standard coal consumption and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 168200 tons. The construction process has also been deeply integrated into the local area, driving more than 500 local farmers and herdsmen to find employment, using 27 local machinery and equipment, and helping the masses generate more than 20 million yuan in income. Many traditional herdsmen have been trained into industrial workers and their income has stabilized. Yi Jinyin, general manager of CGN Xizang New Energy Investment Co., Ltd., said that solar thermal power generation has dual functions of peak shaving power supply and long-term energy storage, which can provide the power system with long-term peak shaving capacity and rotational inertia. This power station is connected to the grid, and has truly unleashed the potential of solar thermal power as peak shaving and basic power supply. At night on the plateau, the lights and heating are on together, and the new power system takes on the most practical appearance on the border.Editor/Min Jing