On July 21, 2025, the Jinta ZhongGuang Solar “CSP + PV” Pilot Project 100MW CSP Project (‘Project’) achieved a daily power generation of 1024 MWh, with a peak load of 100.04MW that day.

The Project began reverse power transmission on March 30, 2025. In early April, Cosin Solar, in collaboration with CGDG’s Gansu branch, organized all participating parties to initiate salt melting and commissioning. The Project was successfully connected to the grid on May 28. After completing salt melting and a settling period, the Project achieved full-process operation on July 10, 2025. Within just 11 days (including 3 cloudy and 6 overcast days), the Project reached full-load operation, culminating in a daily generation of 1024 MWh on July 21. Throughout operation, the Concentrating Solar Collector System, Thermal Energy Storage and Exchange System, and Steam Turbine Generator System all performed stably.

This Project employs Cosin Solar's fully independent tower molten salt CSP technology. Cosin Solar was responsible for the entire Project’s management consulting, overall process design (excluding the power island), supply of core system equipment, commissioning, and operational guidance. Additionally, the Project successfully implemented several innovative technologies:

• Molten Salt Thermal Storage System Based on Low-Position Tank Short-Shaft Pumps

The molten salt storage and exchange system was designed and integrated by Cosin Solar, featuring its proprietary low-position molten salt tank + short-shaft molten salt pump solution. By lowering the minimum liquid level of the molten salt tank, the system significantly reduces molten salt usage and cuts investment costs. The short-shaft molten salt pump also addresses industry challenges such as high foundation requirements and excessive operational vibration, improving system reliability. The system achieved fully automated operation upon startup, with smooth liquid level adjustment. During full-load operation, all technical indicators outperformed design parameters, with the cold salt pump’s vibration under rated flow measuring below 0.3mm/s—demonstrating the superiority of this innovation.

• Optimized Large-Scale Heliostat Field Control Technology

With a heliostat field covering approximately 770,000 square meters, the Project utilizes Cosin Solar’s self-developed high-precision smart heliostats and control system. Integrating advanced automation, algorithms, and software, the system ensures precise long-distance tracking and efficient large-scale field control while enhancing the plant’s intelligence.

• Medium/High-Voltage Molten Salt Electric Heaters

The Project includes a 20MW medium/high-voltage molten salt electric heater operating at 6kV. During PV power curtailment, the heater absorbs excess PV electricity, storing it in molten salt tanks for conversion back to electricity during peak demand periods. This solution not only enables rapid two-way peak shaving but also improves the plant’s overall economic efficiency.

Notably, this Project is the first in the industry to use molten salt electric heaters for initial salt melting, achieving a peak melting rate of 1,000 tons/day. Most of the electricity used for melting came from curtailed PV power, drastically reducing costs.

The project’s rapid achievement of full-load operation and performance optimization highlights Cosin Solar’s deep expertise and comprehensive capabilities in tower CSP systems.

Moving forward, Cosin Solar and project investor CGDG will leverage a self-developed smart management platform for real-time monitoring and driven analysis, enabling refined and intelligent operation to further enhance performance. The goal is to establish this project as a new benchmark for integrated ‘CSP+’ projects and set an advanced example for the efficient, stable operation of large-scale CSP initiatives nationwide.

Project Overview:

Jinta ZhongGuang Solar “CSP + PV” Pilot Project is part of China’s second batch of large-scale renewable energy base projects focused on deserts, Gobi areas, and arid regions. Located in the Baishuiquan Photovoltaic Industrial Park of Jinta County, Jiuquan City, it has a total installed capacity of 700MW, configured as 600MW PV and 100MW CT CSP, equipped with 9-hour molten salt thermal energy storage system.  Once fully operational, the project is expected to deliver approximately 1450GWh of clean electricity annually to the grid, saving about 480,000 tons of standard coal and reducing 1,360,000 tons of CO₂ emissions each year. It holds significant importance for promoting local socio-economic development, energy conservation, and emissions reduction.