I am Zhang Li from China Three Gorges New Energy. We are a central state-owned enterprise specializing in the investment, construction, and operation of photovoltaic and wind power projects. We belong to China Three Gorges Corporation—the country’s largest hydropower development and operating enterprise and a leading group in clean energy and ecological environmental protection. Today, I would like to share with you the story of a beam of light.
In 1954, in a laboratory, scientists used a beam of sunlight to power a small telegraph machine. That is how the first commercially viable solar cell was born. At the time, its conversion efficiency was only 6%, meaning that out of 100 units of sunlight, only 6 units could be converted into electricity. Back then, no one imagined that decades later, China would become a global “leader” in the photovoltaic industry.
We were not the earliest to start, but along the way we moved from “learning and following,” to “working alongside,” and then to “leading the way,” forging our own path through sheer effort. As both witnesses and participants, China Three Gorges New Energy has been fortunate to see and take part in this great process. Today, let us use our story to talk about the real, tangible progress China’s photovoltaic industry has made over the years.
Let me begin with the first set of key words: from “follower” to “leader.”
Ten-odd years ago, people’s perception of solar power was often that it was “weather-dependent” and “expensive.” Today, however, in most regions, the cost of solar electricity has already fallen below that of coal power—we have achieved “grid parity.” How did this happen? It is the result of successive generations of photovoltaic professionals working tirelessly to steadily improve technology and efficiency.
To give one example, in April 2018, we won the bid for a 500,000-kilowatt “leader” project in Golmud, Qinghai. The on-grid tariff was 0.316 RMB per kilowatt-hour, the first time it fell below the benchmark price of coal-fired power.
On the plateau, where winds are strong, temperature differences are extreme, and ultraviolet radiation is intense, our team calibrated equipment under blazing sun during the day and conducted data analysis and optimization in the camp at night. We optimized component selection while exploring lean operation and maintenance models, gradually overcoming one technical bottleneck after another. In December of that year, the project was connected to the grid and began power generation. To this day, it continues to operate safely and stably, consistently meeting high-quality generation targets and achieving profitability. It has generated over 5 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity in total—enough to meet the annual electricity consumption of about 2.5 million households.
The project was named “Leader” because from the very beginning it carried a clear mission: to enable photovoltaics to generate electricity that is both high-quality and low-cost. Practice has proven that with a combination of technological innovation, quality control, cost management, and lean operations and maintenance, photovoltaic projects can not only bring affordable clean energy into thousands of households, but also drive the sustainable development of the entire industry.
We have many similar “firsts” in other regions as well. For example, in Quyang, Hebei, we built what was at the time the largest mountainous photovoltaic project in China. Together with domestic equipment manufacturers, we carried out joint innovation and, for the first time on a large scale, adopted string inverters, which improved power generation efficiency and enhanced system reliability. At the same time, we integrated photovoltaic development with rural revitalization, bringing tangible benefits to the local community. Locals vividly refer to it as “planting the sun on the Taihang Mountains”—a description that is both lively and fitting.
In the field of solar thermal power, we have also continued to explore.
You may ask: what is solar thermal power? Simply put, photovoltaics directly convert solar energy into electricity, while solar thermal power first converts solar energy into heat and then generates electricity. Its advantage is that it can store energy and provide stable, uninterrupted 24-hour power supply, solving the problem of photovoltaics producing electricity only during the day.
In Guazhou, Gansu, we built China’s first “two-tower one-turbine” solar thermal energy storage project. We worked to overcome challenges such as 565°C high-temperature molten salt energy storage and complex overlapping heliostat field intelligent control systems. Its core technologies were included in the National Energy Administration’s “first-of-its-kind (first set)” list.
Since the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, China’s new energy sector has developed rapidly, with photovoltaic conversion efficiency continuously improving and power generation costs steadily decreasing. As mentioned earlier, the first solar cell had a conversion efficiency of 6%, while today it has generally exceeded 20%. In this process, a new material—perovskite—has emerged.
Compared with crystalline silicon, perovskite performs better under low-light conditions and can also be made into flexible and semi-transparent materials, allowing it to be integrated into buildings, windows, and other surfaces, greatly expanding its application scenarios.
Perovskite materials have many advantages, but success in the laboratory does not automatically translate into commercial viability. There are still major hurdles in technology, manufacturing processes, and reliability. We have invested through industrial funds in leading domestic perovskite companies and carried out field testing in four regions—Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Shandong, and Hainan—across different climates and terrains, continuously improving conversion efficiency.
In November last year, together with research institutions and upstream and downstream industry partners, we successfully achieved grid connection of China’s first commercial megawatt-scale perovskite ground-mounted photovoltaic project, bringing this cutting-edge technology from the laboratory into real commercial application. It was also included in the National Energy Administration’s “first-of-its-kind (first set)” list.
From grid parity in Golmud to breakthroughs in perovskite technology, we have been steadily improving efficiency, reducing costs, and ensuring safety in a concrete, hands-on way, continuously advancing the application and refinement of new models, new materials, and new technologies. Step by step, we have witnessed the maturation and progress of photovoltaics, and we have also deeply realized that only through continuous innovation can photovoltaics truly achieve high-quality development and provide a solid foundation for the energy transition.
Next, let me share the second set of key words: from “building power stations” to “benefiting people’s livelihoods.”
We have always believed that the value of clean energy is not limited to electricity generation; its deeper significance lies in integrating into daily life and improving people’s livelihoods. Over the years, we have consistently worked to combine photovoltaics with ecological restoration, agriculture and animal husbandry, and rural revitalization—bringing solar power into deserts, Gobi regions, subsidence zones, fish ponds, and rooftops, so that people can see it, touch it, use it, and benefit from it.
Kubuqi is China’s seventh-largest desert, once known as the “Sea of Death.” In this very desert, we are building the country’s first batch of large-scale “desert–Gobi–wasteland” renewable energy base at the ten-million-kilowatt level. The project has a total installed capacity of 16 million kilowatts. Once completed, it will transmit about 40 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually to eastern regions—equivalent to reducing coal consumption by 12 million tons and cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 32 million tons.
But the greater transformation is happening on the ground. It is spring now; if you walk into our power station, you would hardly think you are in a desert. Along the access roads, golden elm, white elm, Korean pine, wild peach, and wild apricot have been planted. Beneath the photovoltaic panels, willows and Caragana shrubs are sprouting new buds. Places that were once barren are now full of life. Over these years, builders from China Three Gorges New Energy have battled wind, sand, and scorching heat in vast deserts, gradually transforming barren land into green energy bases.
After the desert, let us turn to coal mining subsidence areas.
In areas such as Fuyang and Huainan in Anhui Province, years of coal mining have caused ground subsidence. On the water surfaces formed by these collapsed areas, we use floating structures to raise photovoltaic panels above the water. Fish are raised beneath the panels, which also help improve water quality. After years of restoration, neat rows of deep-blue solar panels now stretch across the water surface. Schools of fish can be seen swimming below, vegetation flourishes along the banks, and waterbirds rest in the distance. This once heavily exploited land has not only generated economic value, but also regained its ecological value.
In addition to ecological restoration, we have also integrated photovoltaics with agriculture and aquaculture, developing multiple “PV+” models such as agro-photovoltaics, fishery-photovoltaics, animal husbandry-photovoltaics, and tea-photovoltaics. In Shuangliao, Jilin, cattle and sheep are raised beneath solar panels. In Wenzhou, Zhejiang, fish and shrimp are farmed under floating PV systems. In Tongchuan, Shaanxi, we have created a model combining agro-PV, ecological restoration, and rural tourism. In Huidong, Guangdong, photovoltaic panels are installed on the roofs of vegetable greenhouses—vegetables grow inside while electricity is generated above, enabling highly efficient land use. In addition to these, we also have rooftop photovoltaic projects across many regions, from industrial parks to residential buildings, bringing green electricity into everyday life.
The cases I have shared today represent only a small part of China Three Gorges New Energy’s photovoltaic practice, and they are also a reflection of the broader development of China’s photovoltaic industry. We have deeply realized that the progress of the photovoltaic industry has never happened overnight. It depends on more than a decade of steady, down-to-earth, continuous exploration by China’s photovoltaic practitioners, as well as the strong support of scientifically guided national policies and strategic planning.
Looking ahead, we will continue to deepen our work in the photovoltaic sector, push for continuous technological iteration and upgrading, and strive to lead in more cutting-edge fields. We will also continue to expand application scenarios for photovoltaics, bringing the “PV+” model to more places and benefiting more people, so that every beam of sunlight can be transformed into even greater energy. Thank you.
Editor: Zhiyu Wang
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/7nIt8ZaEPNS1zsJO5C48JQ
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