13–15 August 2025, the 2025 China CSP Conference took place in Xi’an. The event brought together more than 800 delegates, including Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, senior officials from the National Energy Administration, experts from the IEA SolarPACES network and other domestic and international research institutions, as well as representatives from across the industrial chain. Centered on the intelligent and large-scale development of concentrating solar power (CSP), cost optimization, and technological breakthroughs, the participants engaged in in-depth discussions to build consensus on scaling up CSP within China’s new-type power system.
Permanent Honorary Chairman of the China CSP Conference, Academician Xu Jianzhong of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Li Yaohua, Party Secretary and Director of the Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences—lead entity of the Solar Thermal Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance and Vice President of the Chinese Renewable Energy Society; Wu Yin, Chair of the Expert Committee for the 14th Five-Year National Energy Planning, former Deputy Director of the National Energy Administration and Senior Economist; Bai Bofeng, Vice President of the Chinese Society of Engineering Thermophysics and Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong University; Liu Zhenyang, official from the New and Renewable Energy Department of the National Energy Administration; Wei Junyao, Party Secretary and Chairman of Northwest Engineering Corporation Limited, Professor-level Senior Engineer; Jin Jianxiang, Chairman and Chief Scientist of Cosin Solar; and Conference Chair Wang Zhifeng, Director of the Solar Thermal Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance, all delivered opening remarks.
During the keynote sessions, Professor He Yaling of Xi’an Jiaotong University—Chair of the Expert Committee of the CSTA—presented “Pathways and Prospects for the Intelligent, Large-Scale Development of CSP Plants.” Dr. Christoph Richter, Executive Secretary of IEA SolarPACES, spoke on “Highlights of International R&D in Concentrating Solar Technologies from the SolarPACES Network.” Wang Weisheng, Chief Engineer of China Electric Power Research Institute and Chief Scientist/Professor-level Senior Engineer of State Grid, addressed “Development Opportunities for CSP from the Perspective of a New-Type Power System.” Subsequently, Xie Hongwen, Chief Technical Expert/Professor-level Senior Engineer of the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute; Zhou Zhi, Chief Engineer of the Northwest Engineering Corporation Limited; and Jin Jianxiang, Chairman and Chief Scientist of Cosin Solar Technology Co., Ltd. presented on “Current Status, Outlook, and Policy Recommendations for China’s CSP Development,” “Driving High-Quality CSP Development Through Scientific and Technological Innovation,” and “Demystifying the Key Factors Behind CSP Cost Reduction,” respectively.
A panel discussion focused on “CSP development pathways during the 15th Five-Year Plan period under market-oriented reform of renewable energy tariffs,” while a second panel explored “Cost reduction and efficiency improvement of CSP,” analyzing cost structures, trends, and comprehensive measures through case studies and shared experiences.
At the closing ceremony, Secretary-General Du Fengli of the CSTA announced that the 2026 China CSP Conference will be jointly hosted by Qinghai Salt Lake Wo Jin Thermal Storage Technology Co., CGN (Qinghai) New Energy Investment Co., Changzhou Longteng Solar Thermal Technology Co., and SunSum Technology Co., Ltd. The event will take place in Xining, Qinghai Province. The collaboration among these four partners—covering upstream and downstream segments of the industrial chain—signals the sector’s united effort to accelerate large-scale deployment of CSP technology.
Under the enduring theme “Advancing CSP industrialization through scientific and technological innovation,” the China CSP Conference has now convened for 19 editions. Organized by theCSTA, the Chinese Society of Engineering Thermophysics, the Chinese Renewable Energy Society, and the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering, and co-organized by Northwest Engineering Corporation Limited and Cosin Solar, the conference featured 85 technical presentations covering research progress, solar collector technologies, thermal storage and heat-exchange technologies, and more. Two “CSP Master Classes,” an “Alliance Debate Cup,” and product launches by Cosin Solar and Longteng Solar were also held. A concurrent exhibition with 43 participating organizations showcased the full industrial chain—from key components to system integration—demonstrating that China’s CSP sector has established a virtuous cycle of “technology iteration → cost reduction → large-scale application,” providing robust technical support for future expansion.