China’s first provincial-level policy supporting Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), titled Measures for Promoting the Large-Scale Development of CSP in Qinghai Province, has been officially released.
The policy outlines that Qinghai will take the lead in advancing the development of the CSP industry in China. The province will actively guide innovation resources toward CSP enterprises, aiming to form a series of key equipment, core technologies, intellectual property, and patents that are replicable and scalable, thus enhancing the industry’s competitiveness.
Xu Haiming, Director of the Qinghai Provincial Energy Bureau, stated: “We will implement CSP projects of 100-200 MW annually in batches, with a goal to exceed 5 million kilowatts of installed CSP capacity by 2030, accounting for more than one-third of the national planned capacity. This will boost the global competitiveness of the CSP industry and establish a multi-faceted green support system led by CSP.”
Additionally, Qinghai will focus on exploring the development of CSP projects as part of the Belt and Road Initiative in regions such as Central Asia and the Middle East, aiming to elevate international cooperation in the sector.
Qinghai, known for its abundant solar thermal resources, has an estimated technical development capacity of around 1 billion kilowatts. The province also has approximately 100,000 square kilometers of “desert, barren, and rocky” land available for development. As of now, Qinghai has already built a total of 710,000 kilowatts of installed CSP capacity, with another 1.35 million kilowatts under construction, representing 39% and 53% of the national total, respectively—both the highest in the country.
