China Starts Work on Solar Plant Built Under Extreme Conditions Amid Global Energy Crisis

China has broken ground on a 50-megawatt concentrated solar power plant in Tibet at an altitude of 4,550 metres (14,900 feet), making it the world’s highest-altitude parabolic trough solar thermalfacility.

The project, located in Dangxiong County, incorporates a 400-megawatt photovoltaic system and is scheduled for full operation by 2027, Xinhua reported. Preparatory digging at the site began on Monday.

Global energy supplies have grown increasingly volatile in recent years, due to climate variability and geopolitical tensions – including ongoing conflicts in the Middle East – which has pushed countries to seek more reliable and diversified electricity sources. China’s rapid renewable energy expansion, particularly in high-altitude regions like Tibet, forms a key part of its strategy to enhance energy security and mitigate such volatility.

Rapid renewable energy development is extending the power grid into remote high-altitude areas, forming an ultra-high-voltage network centred on 500-kilovolt main lines with coordinated sub-grids to ensure more stable and flexible power delivery, according to local authorities.

Technically, the Dangxiong plant uses parabolic trough technology with heat-transfer oil, covering 242,000 square metres (2.6 million square feet) across 68 collector loops. Eight of these loops feature China’s self-developed 8.6-metre-wide troughs, the largest to be used in commercial solar thermal projects worldwide.

The plant also integrates molten salt storage, which can convert excess daytime solar energy into heat for storage and release at night or during periods of low sunlight, providing a more continuous power supply.

This follows the June 2025 launch of a 100-megawatt solar thermal plant in Anduo, northern Tibet, at an altitude of roughly 4,650 metres, making it the world’s first solar thermal plant constructed under such extreme high-altitude, low-temperature and weak-grid conditions, according to Xinhua.

In recent years, Tibet’s clean electricity has been transmitted to Beijing, Chongqing, and Jiangsu, supporting China’s regional energy coordination strategies.

In September 2025, Tibet’s green power was delivered across regions to Shanghai for the first time, with the initial cross-regional transaction covering 7.85 million kilowatt-hours, expected to save 24,100 tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60,100 tonnes.

Clean energy investment in Tibet grew rapidly in 2025, with total investment in electricity, heat, gas and water production and supply up 33.1 per cent year-on-year, driving overall investment growth by 7.3 percentage points, official data showed.

Investments in hydropower and wind power rose by 299 per cent and 137 per cent, respectively.

As outlined by President Xi Jinping at the UN Climate Action Summit, China’s share of non-fossil fuels in total energy consumption targets to reach over 30 per cent by 2035, while the total installed capacity of wind and solar power will exceed six times the 2020 levels, striving to reach 3.6 billion kilowatts.