China’s Tangshan Haitai Solar Park Sets Record with CSP Technology

In a landmark achievement for the renewable energy sector, China’s Tangshan Haitai Solar Park has set a new operational record, showcasing the immense potential of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology. The facility’s 100 MW tower CSP project successfully ran continuously and safely for 96 consecutive hours, demonstrating its capacity for stable, round-the-clock power generation.

This milestone is a significant step forward in the quest for reliable, dispatchable renewable energy that can support grid stability 24/7.

A New Benchmark for Solar with Tangshan CSP Solar Park

Located in Turpan City, Xinjiang, the Tangshan Haitai Solar Park achieved this feat during a trial run in April 2026. Throughout the four-day period, the plant operated without interruption, with daily generation consistently exceeding 1 million kWh.

This accomplishment is not just a test of endurance but a powerful validation of the technology’s readiness for commercial-scale deployment. According to a report from SolarPACES, the successful trial marks a major step toward the plant’s full operational capacity, which began its initial commissioning in September 2025.

How CSP Makes Round-the-Clock Solar Possible

Unlike traditional photovoltaic (PV) panels that generate electricity directly from sunlight and stop producing in the dark, CSP technology operates differently. The Tangshan Haitai project utilizes a “power tower” design, where a vast field of mirrors, known as heliostats, track the sun and focus its rays onto a central receiver.

The key to its continuous operation lies in thermal energy storage. The intense heat collected at the receiver is used to heat molten salt to very high temperatures. This stored thermal energy can then be dispatched at any time—day or night—to create steam and drive a turbine, generating electricity on demand. It is this ability to store the sun’s energy as heat that enabled the plant to run for 96 hours straight, long after the sun had set each day.

More Than Just a Power Plant: Stabilizing the Grid

The Tangshan Haitai CSP project is a critical component of the larger 1 GW Qiquanhu PV Industrial Park. In this hybrid energy complex, the CSP plant acts as the dispatchable core, providing a stable and reliable source of power that compensates for the intermittent output of the co-located photovoltaic systems.

This hybrid model is becoming a cornerstone of China’s renewable energy strategy. By pairing the steady, on-demand power of CSP with the vast generating capacity of PV, these parks can deliver a consistent flow of clean energy to the grid. This approach is essential for maintaining grid stability as the share of variable renewables like solar and wind continues to grow.

The record-setting run at Tangshan Haitai is more than just a technical achievement; it serves as a powerful proof-of-concept for the future of renewable energy—one that is not only clean but also reliable, dispatchable, and capable of powering our world around the clock.