Concentrated Solar Power with Thermal Energy Storage

Solar energy is usually associated with photovoltaic panels, but another approach is concentrated solar power (CSP). Rather than converting sunlight directly into electricity, CSP plants concentrate solar radiation to heat a working fluid and can use stored thermal energy to generate power.

A recent example is the CGN Jixi 100 MW CSP Plant in Jilin Province, China. The 100 MW facility was commissioned in 2026 in the city of Da'an. According to CGN, it is the first solar thermal power plant in northeastern China and the country's highest-latitude concentrating solar power facility.

The project is notable for more than its location in a cold, high-latitude region. It operates alongside a previously commissioned 260 MW wind farm and a 130 MW photovoltaic plant at the same site. When wind and solar generation exceed immediate demand, surplus electricity can be converted into thermal energy, helping reduce renewable energy curtailment and improve resource utilisation.

In effect, this is a hybrid energy system: wind generation, photovoltaic generation and concentrated solar power function as an integrated facility with an energy storage component.

Such projects are particularly relevant to modern power systems. As the share of variable renewable generation increases, storage technologies, forecasting, demand management and coordination across different sources become increasingly important.

A solar thermal plant is therefore more than another renewable energy facility. It illustrates the transition towards more integrated and intelligent approaches to generation management.