China completes mirror installation for high-altitude solar plant in Tibet

China has reached a major construction milestone for a molten salt concentrated solar power plant in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Located in Amdo County, Nagqu, the facility is the first solar thermal tower plant in Tibet and is noted as the highest-altitude plant of its kind, built to operate in extreme cold, high winds, and weak grid conditions.

The project involves the installation of 15,927 heliostat mirrors across an 800,000-square-meter field. These mirrors track the sun to direct light toward a receiver atop a 210-meter central tower. The plant utilizes molten salt technology to store thermal energy, allowing for electricity production even when direct sunlight is unavailable.

With an expected capacity of 100 megawatts (MW), the project aims to integrate into the power grid by October 2026, leveraging the region's high solar radiation of over 2,800 sunshine hours per year to address local energy shortages.