China has switched on a world-first solar thermal power station in the Gobi Desert that is said to be a cheaper and more efficient use of the technology with potential to be scaled up.
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Built by the China Three Gorges Corporation, the plant in Guazhou county in northwestern Gansu province uses two towers feeding a single turbine system – the first time this has been done.
Nearly 27,000 mirrors have been installed to focus sunlight onto the 200-metre (656 feet) towers, which are about 1km (0.62 miles) apart.
This produces concentrated heat that melts and stores salt at up to 570 degrees Celsius (1,058 degrees Fahrenheit). That in turn creates steam to drive the turbines and keep the power flowing, even after sunset or on cloudy days.
The dual towers allow the east tower to capture morning sun, while the west tower takes over in the afternoon, state broadcaster CCTV reported last week.
That makes them about 25 per cent more effective than a single-tower design, the report said. And with the two mirror fields partly overlapping, fewer mirrors are needed – a key saving since they account for most of the construction costs.