On the morning of October 24, the world's first commercialized 8.6-meter large-aperture trough collector was assembled and rolled off the production line at the CGN Dangxiong Wumatang project site in Tibet, located at an altitude of 4,550 meters. The project is a 50,000 kW solar thermal power plant integrated with 400,000 kW of solar photovoltaics. This milestone marks China's official transition of the 8.6-meter large-aperture trough collector from experimental demonstration to commercial application, providing critical equipment support for the large-scale development of clean energy in high-altitude regions.
The 8.6-meter large-aperture trough collector that rolled off the line is currently the largest commercially deployed trough collector in the world in terms of aperture size. Compared with the traditional 5.77-meter aperture collector, its single-loop collector area reaches 5,970 square meters, an increase of approximately 83%. The concentration ratio and energy flux density have improved by 18% and 17.5%, respectively, while the levelized cost of electricity can be reduced by 10%. With the same mirror field collector area, this equipment can significantly reduce the number of collector loops as well as the amount of supporting piping, valves, and control systems, effectively lowering the construction, installation, and full lifecycle maintenance costs of the mirror field. In addition, the equipment adopts a space truss structure and intelligent tracking control technology, enabling it to adapt to Tibet's complex environment of high altitude, strong winds, and earthquakes.
The collector was independently developed under the leadership of CGN, with 100% localization of its core components. During the R&D and application process, CGN not only overcame a series of key technical challenges such as space truss structure and high-precision intelligent tracking, but also effectively promoted the coordinated development of China's solar thermal industry chain upstream and downstream. Facing construction challenges such as high cold, oxygen deficiency, and reduced hoisting efficiency due to low air density, the project builders conducted a series of process innovations to ensure the high-quality completion of the first unit.
The first unit to roll off the line will be applied to Loop 1 of the large-trough zone on the project's solar island. On-site testing showed that key indicators such as optical efficiency, surface shape accuracy, and tracking accuracy all met design requirements, satisfying the conditions for mass production and loop integration. With the completion of the first unit, the project will shift from the civil construction stage to a stage where core equipment integration proceeds in parallel with civil construction. The project has a total of 68 collector loops, of which 8 loops use the 8.6-meter large-aperture trough collectors and the remaining 60 loops use 5.77-meter aperture collectors. The total mirror field area reaches 242,000 square meters. The first large-aperture collector loop consists of 40 collectors and is expected to be installed by the end of December.
This project is not only the world's first commercial demonstration project for an 8.6-meter-class large-aperture trough solar thermal power plant, but also the world's highest-altitude thermal oil trough solar thermal power station. The power plant plans to build 50,000 kW of solar thermal capacity and 400,000 kW of photovoltaic capacity, and is expected to achieve grid connection by the end of 2027. It adopts a "solar thermal + photovoltaic" multi-energy complementary model. The solar thermal power system, equipped with thermal storage, can generate electricity continuously at night and provide flexible peak shaving, effectively enhancing the grid's capacity to absorb renewable energy. Once completed, the plant is expected to generate approximately 719 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year on average, providing strong support for Tibet Autonomous Region's construction of a national clean energy base.