Solar thermal power station in Jilin sets pace for cold climates
The field consists of 19,667 high-precision heliostats, covering a total area of about 590,000 square meters.
"Facing harsh natural conditions, with the lowest temperature reaching -37.3 C and maximum wind speeds reaching level 9, as well as multiple engineering challenges, such as saline-alkali geology, high groundwater levels and heavy soil, the project team achieved technological breakthroughs," said Zhao Xiong, who is in charge of the project.
"The team has successfully mastered a complete set of key technologies, including molten salt anti-freezing, heliostat wind and snow resistance, low-temperature pile foundation construction and large storage tank composite waterproofing."
They developed a standardized solution that can be replicated and promoted in cold regions above 45 degrees north latitude, he added, meaning that that China now clearly has the ability to build large solar thermal power plants in cold environments.
