On January 31, 2025, the Blue Book of China’s Concentrating Solar Power Industry 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the “Blue Book”) was released. The “Blue Book” was jointly compiled by the China Solar Thermal Alliance (CSTA), Concentrating Solar Power Professional Committee of China Renewable Energy Society (CRES), and Zhongguancun Xinyuan Solar Thermal Technology Services Center, reviewed by the CSTA Expert Committee, and approved for release by He Yaling, chairman of the CSTA Expert Committee and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
According to the New and Renewable Energy Department of the National Energy Administration (NEA), the “Blue Book” compiled by CSTA provides valuable supporting data and reference for the development of China’s concentrating solar power (CSP) industry and contributes greatly to the healthy and sustainable development of the renewable energy industry.
In the “Blue Book”, it is stated that, in 2024, China’s CSP industry made significant progress, the installed capacity of CSP plants continued to increase, the scope of application of CSP technologies became increasingly wide, and the number of enterprises engaged in the CSP industry chain increased steadily. The Energy Law of the People’s Republic of China effective for implementation from January 1, 2025 clearly states that China will take active steps to develop the CSP industry, laying a solid foundation for the sustainable development of the CSP industry. In 2024, China’s national and local governments enacted a series of policies to promote the development of the CSP industry and CSP technologies.
According to the “Blue Book”, as of the end of 2024, the total installed capacity of completed CSP plants has reached 838.2 MW, accounting for 10.6% of the world’s total installed solar power capacity. According to CSTA’s statistics, there are currently 34 CSP projects under construction in China, with a total installed capacity of 3,300 MW, and 37 planned CSP projects, with a total installed capacity of about 4,800 MW.
Annual cumulative installed capacity of CSP plants in China (Source: Blue Book of China’s Concentrating Solar Power Industry 2024 compiled by CSTA and other organizations)
Total installed capacity of CSP plants in the world and annual growth rate of installed solar power capacity (Source: Blue Book of China’s Concentrating Solar Power Industry 2024 compiled by CSTA and other organizations)
According to CSTA’s statistics, among the cumulative installed capacity of CSP plants in China, the installed capacity of molten salt tower CSP plants accounts for about 57.4%, the installed capacity of thermal oil parabolic trough CSP plants accounts for about 22.7%, the installed capacity of molten salt linear Fresnel CSP plants accounts for about 19.9%, and the installed capacity of supercritical CO₂ CSP plants accounts for about 0.02%. Among the global cumulative installed capacity of CSP plants, the installed capacity of solar power plants accounts for about 21.63%, the installed capacity of parabolic trough CSP plants accounts for about 73.76%, and the installed capacity of linear Fresnel CSP plants accounts for about 4.61%.
Solar concentration forms of CSP plants in China and around the world (Source: Blue Book of China’s Concentrating Solar Power Industry 2024 compiled by CSTA and other organizations)
In terms of industry chain, the “Blue Book” contains information for about 440,000 enterprises engaged in the CSP industry chain, which can be searched based on the following five elements: company name, business scope, company profile, brand products, and corporate existence (the search results only display domestic limited liability companies and joint stock companies, excluding other types of organizations such as private firms). These enterprises include about 14,000 state-owned enterprises, about 421,000 private enterprises, about 3,000 foreign-invested enterprises, 23,500 small and micro enterprises, and about 16,800 enterprises with patent information related to solar thermal power generation.
In terms of technological progress, the “Blue Book” provides information about CSP-related national science and technology projects in China. In 2024, the world’s first supercritical CO₂ solar thermoelectric generator set was successfully put into operation, marking that China’s fourth-generation CSP technology has reached the international leading level. In addition, China has made many innovative achievements in related fields such as molten salt energy storage technology and efficient solar concentration and heat absorption systems, completed its first test circuit for large-aperture molten salt parabolic trough collectors, and make successive achievements in the independent development and manufacturing of all key materials and equipment in the entire industry chain. Furthermore, China’s power plant operation and maintenance technology continued to improve, and the total electricity generation of the first eight demonstration CSP plants reached a new high, with a year-over-year increase of 6.71%. Technological progress has laid a solid foundation for reducing costs and improving efficiency in the CSP industry.
Wang Zhifeng, editor-in-chief of the “Blue Book 2024” and researcher at the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, expressed that, under current national conditions, the development of China’s CSP industry has shown a unique development trend. CSP is becoming increasingly integrated with other renewable energy sources such as PV and wind power, forming a multi-energy complementary energy supply pattern that can improve energy utilization. As the installed capacity increases continuously, the unique characteristics of CSP, such as cleanliness and stability, will gradually become more prominent. As stated by Mr. Tao Wenquan, academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, CSP is an effective technology to ensure energy security; in recent years, CSP technology has made rapid progress, its cost has dropped rapidly, and it is expected to become one of the main energy sources!
The “Blue Book” proposes the goals and recommendations for the development of China’s CSP Industry. The English version of the “Blue Book” will be released in early March 2025.
