On March 10, Du Fengli, Secretary-General of the China Solar Thermal Alliance (CSTA), led a delegation from member company Exera Energía of Spain (hereinafter referred to as "Exera") to visit PowerChina Renewable Energy Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "PowerChina Renewable Energy") for an exchange on concentrated solar power (CSP) operation and maintenance (O&M) technologies. Yang Li, Member of the Party Committee, Deputy General Manager, and Chief Technical Expert of PowerChina Renewable Energy, warmly received the delegation.
Yang Li expressed appreciation for CSTA's active role in building bridges for technical exchanges among member companies and extended a warm welcome to the Spanish CSP colleagues. He noted that China's CSP industry is currently undergoing a transition from demonstration to commercial development, with installed capacity expected to rank first globally by the end of 2026. The Opinions on Promoting the Scaled Development of Concentrated Solar Power issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration clearly establish CSP's strategic position as an effective means to achieve safe and reliable substitution of new energy for traditional energy, and as effective support for accelerating the construction of new-type power systems. The effective operation of CSP plants is the foundation for "giving full play to the supporting and regulating role of CSP in new-type power systems," making efficient O&M technologies crucial. As the only power generation enterprise under PowerChina engaged in domestic new energy investment and operation, PowerChina Renewable Energy shoulders the important responsibility of promoting high-quality and leapfrog development of new energy business. The company has comprehensively participated in the development and construction of onshore wind power, offshore wind power, photovoltaic power, CSP, new energy storage, and off-grid wind-solar-diesel-storage distribution network projects, actively exploring new energy demonstration projects, and has built multiple benchmark projects in the clean energy field, creating numerous industry firsts. In the CSP field, PowerChina Renewable Energy is currently operating and maintaining the Qinghai Hainan Yuyuan 50MW CSP demonstration project, one of China's first batch of CSP demonstration projects; at the same time, it is investing in and constructing the PowerChina Renewable Energy Turpan Tuokexun County Usutong 1GW CSP+PV Integrated Project and the PowerChina Ruoqiang County 100MW CSP (Energy Storage) + 900MW PV Demonstration Project. The company welcomes cooperation with Exera to jointly promote quality and efficiency development of CSP.
Enrique García, General Manager of Exera China, introduced Exera's profile. He stated that Exera is a leading CSP O&M service provider in Spain, with over 15 years of deep engagement in CSP facility O&M. Currently, Exera operates and maintains six CSP plants in Spain, including Gemasolar, the world's first commercial molten salt tower CSP plant (with 15-hour thermal storage). The annual power generation of CSP plants operated by Exera consistently exceeds that of similar plants under comparable meteorological conditions. Building on its rich practical experience, Exera has developed a series of professional solutions and software tools that enhance operational efficiency, strengthen safety assurance, and support data-driven decision-making. Exera is about to provide comprehensive O&M services for two CSP plants in South Africa. Enrique emphasized that the profitability and lifespan of CSP plants depend not only on the installed equipment but more importantly on the quality of daily management. It is first necessary to gradually establish systematic inspection mechanisms, precise preventive maintenance plans, and fault prediction technologies to identify and resolve issues before they manifest, then transition to proactive preventive management models through digital technology applications and artificial intelligence. He hopes that Exera's experience and specialized tools in O&M can help Chinese CSP plants increase power generation.
Both sides conducted discussions and exchanges on CSP O&M software and technical cooperation models.
Attendees at the meeting included He Xudong, Party Branch Secretary and Deputy Dean of PowerChina New Energy New Energy and Energy Storage Research Institute; Sun Daolin, Deputy Director of Engineering Technology Research Center; Zhu Xiaolin, Senior Supervisor, and Xia Liu, Supervisor of Energy Technology Research Center; Pu Yongkai, Deputy Plant Manager of Qinghai Hainan Yuyuan CSP Plant; Lei Dongqiang, Researcher of the Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Lin Chengyi, Commercial Director of Exera China; Shan Shipeng, Commercial Representative of Exera China; and Alejandro Aznar, International Business Manager.
