Eco Tech: China to build Asia’s largest solar thermal power station
Eco Factor: Largest solar thermal power station in Asia to be built by China.
China is planning to build Asia’s largest solar thermal power station in a Beijing suburb with construction to commence next month. The plant will be able to generate 1.5 MW of green electricity that is sufficient for 30,000 Chinese homes. The plant has been designed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and will cost $14.7 million when completed in 2010.
Covering an area of 13 hectares, the plant will generate 2.7 million Kwh of electricity per year that is equivalent to eliminating 2300 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. The plant will be based on a 100-meter tall solar tower that will be surrounded by 100 heliostats, which will track the position of the sun and redirect its energy at the top of the tower.
The Dark Side:
The project is actually what the future is expected to be. The cost too is not much considering what is being spent on conventional power stations in the world.