China Three Gorges Group has connected to the grid a 1 GW hybrid concentrated solar power (CSP) and photovoltaic (PV) facility in Hami, Xinjiang, hailed as the world’s largest integrated project of its kind.
The project surpasses the UAE’s Noor Energy 1 plant—which combines 700 MW of CSP and 250 MW of PV—as the largest CSP-PV complex worldwide.
Built on 1,817 hectares of desert at the southern foot of the Tianshan mountains, the site features a 100 MW linear Fresnel CSP unit with eight hours of molten salt storage alongside 900 MW of solar PV. With annual sunshine exceeding 3,000 hours, the region offers strong conditions for large-scale solar generation.
Construction began in 2023. The PV array was completed and grid-connected by the end of 2024, while the CSP plant entered full operation in September 2025—42 days ahead of schedule. The project represents an investment of CNY 3.53 billion ($480 million), with China Energy Engineering’s Northwest Institute and domestic suppliers providing EPC and technical systems.
The thermal unit deploys 260,000 curved reflectors focusing sunlight onto 800,000 square meters of absorber tubes, heating molten salt to 550°C. The design improves heat conversion efficiency by up to 10% compared with conventional Fresnel technology. Its modular 46-loop configuration enables continuous operation during maintenance, while an optimized salt circulation system ensures reliable performance in winter conditions as low as minus 20°C.
By integrating CSP with PV, the hybrid system delivers round-the-clock power. Daytime PV generation charges the thermal storage system, while stored heat drives turbines to supply electricity at night or during cloudy periods. A centralized control platform balances output between PV and thermal units, offering frequency regulation accuracy of 0.02 Hz and response times under one second.
At full capacity, the complex is expected to produce 2.07 TWh of electricity annually—enough to power 830,000 households—while cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 1.63 million tons per year. It will also raise renewable energy utilization rates in Xinjiang above 95%.
Beyond energy benefits, the project has created around 500 jobs, stimulated local solar equipment and engineering industries, and introduced ecological restoration measures such as planting drought-resistant vegetation to combat desertification.
