{"id":1675,"date":"2026-04-07T02:40:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T02:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/?p=1675"},"modified":"2026-04-07T02:40:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T02:40:29","slug":"cgns-50mw-uma-tang-csp-project-in-tibet-officially-breaks-ground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/2026\/04\/07\/cgns-50mw-uma-tang-csp-project-in-tibet-officially-breaks-ground\/","title":{"rendered":"CGN\u2019s 50MW Uma Tang CSP Project in Tibet Officially Breaks Ground"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On April 6, construction officially commenced on the 50MW Uma Tang concentrated solar power (CSP) project developed by China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN)<\/strong> in Uma Tang Township, Damxung County, Lhasa, Tibet. As the world\u2019s highest-altitude parabolic trough CSP plant, the project is located at an elevation of 4,550 meters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The project marks the first commercial deployment of China\u2019s fully self-developed 8.6-meter aperture parabolic trough collectors. Equipped with a 6-hour molten salt thermal energy storage system, the plant will enable continuous power generation at night and provide flexible peak-shaving capacity, delivering stable and reliable clean electricity to the Tibet grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project is invested and developed by CGN New Energy (Damxung) Co., Ltd., with EPC contracting undertaken by PowerChina Northwest Engineering Corporation Limited, and construction supervision provided by Gansu Huayan Engineering Management Consulting Co., Ltd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using heat transfer oil-based parabolic trough technology, the solar field will cover approximately 242,000 square meters and consist of 68 loops. Among them, 8 loops will utilize CGN\u2019s proprietary 8.6-meter aperture collectors, while the remaining 60 loops will adopt 5.77-meter aperture collectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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According to Hu Guangyao, Chairman of CGN New Energy Holdings Co., Ltd., the 8.6-meter aperture collector is currently the largest of its kind in commercial application worldwide. Compared with the 5.77-meter version, it improves concentration ratio and energy flux density by 18% and 17.5%, respectively, while reducing the levelized cost of electricity by around 10%. Its commercialization is expected to drive coordinated upgrades across China\u2019s CSP industrial chain, strengthen domestic capabilities in key materials and core components, and mark a transition from technology import to indigenous innovation in parabolic trough CSP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project site presents extreme environmental challenges, including low annual temperatures, large diurnal temperature variations, low air density, and intense ultraviolet radiation. The effective construction period is limited to April through October each year. At elevations above 4,000 meters, every additional 100 meters significantly increases labor inefficiency and construction difficulty. To address these challenges, the project team has prioritized worker health and safety by providing heating and oxygen supply systems, as well as high-pressure oxygen chambers to ensure stable project execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yin Hang, Chief Expert for CSP Technology at CGN, noted that the team has developed an integrated engineering solution for large-aperture parabolic trough systems. Through innovations such as high-precision tracking optimization and structural adaptations for high-altitude wind and cold resistance, key technical bottlenecks for long-term stable operation under plateau conditions have been successfully overcome. The National Energy Solar Thermal Power Technology R&D Center has also established a Tibet-based research unit under this project to tackle critical technical challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The CSP project is a core component of the CGN Damxung Uma Tang integrated \u201cCSP + PV\u201d project, which includes 50MW of CSP and 400MW of photovoltaic capacity, and is scheduled for full commissioning in 2027. The PV component began construction in September 2025 and adopts an \u201cagrivoltaics\u201d model that integrates solar power generation with ecological livestock farming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CSP plant\u2019s 6-hour molten salt storage system, together with a 20MW electric molten salt heater, will help absorb curtailed PV power and mitigate the intermittency and variability of solar PV generation, ensuring reliable supply during evening peak demand periods, particularly across seasonal fluctuations in the local grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon full completion, the integrated project is expected to generate approximately 719 million kWh of electricity annually, equivalent to saving about 216,900 tons of standard coal and reducing CO\u2082 emissions by approximately 652,300 tons per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over its lifecycle, the project is projected to contribute around RMB 774 million in tax revenue to the local economy. To date, it has created over 2,000 local employment opportunities and generated more than RMB 5.2 million in income through labor and equipment services. In addition, local authorities are leveraging the project to provide vocational training, facilitating the transition of farmers and herders into skilled technical workers and promoting sustainable income growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since initiating its CSP business in 2011, CGN has played a leading role in China\u2019s solar thermal sector. In 2013, it was approved to establish the National Energy Solar Thermal Power Technology R&D Center, the only national-level R&D platform in this field. CGN has completed 19 scientific and technological achievements evaluations and developed China\u2019s first large-scale commercial CSP demonstration project\u2014the Delingha 50MW CSP plant\u2014which delivered 146 million kWh to the grid in 2025, setting a record high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To date, CGN has secured 68 authorized patents in the CSP field, contributed to the development of 30 national and industry standards, and played a key role in establishing the CSP branch of the China Electricity Council, where it serves as Executive Vice Chairman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On April 6, construction officially commenced on the 50MW Uma Tang concentrated solar power (CSP)…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-project"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1675"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1679,"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1675\/revisions\/1679"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}