[SMM PV News] Xinjiang Fukang 100,000 kW molten salt tower concentrated solar power project connected to grid

On October 30, 2026, the Luneng Fukang 100,000 kW molten salt tower concentrated solar power (CSP) energy storage project, part of the multi-energy complementary (i.e., new energy market-based grid connection) project in Fukang City, Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, was connected to the grid and put into operation. According to State Grid Xinjiang Electric Power Co., Ltd., this is the sixth molten salt tower CSP station connected to the grid in Xinjiang. The project works in coordination with 900,000 kW of PV capacity, forming a "CSP + PV" combined operation mode: PV carries the main output during the day, while the CSP unit stores heat in molten salt and continues generating power after PV output pulls back or after sunset, also providing peak shaving to ease the pressure on the power grid caused by output fluctuations from a pure PV station.

After commissioning, the CSP portion generates an average of about 120 million kWh of electricity per year, saving about 40,000 mt of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 140,000 mt annually. The supporting 900,000 kW of PV pushes the project's overall installed capacity to the million-kilowatt level, making the CSP, PV, and thermal storage a dispatchable power supply combination rather than two stations generating power independently.

Its value goes beyond the additional 120 million kWh of electricity. Molten salt tower CSP inherently has long duration energy storage (LDES) attributes, allowing it to serve as a dispatchable power supply in large-scale new energy bases in Northwest China, working with PV to smooth the output curve, reduce curtailment of PV power generation, and provide a reference engineering sample for the new-type power supply system based on multi-energy complementarity. Six stations of the same type have already been connected to the grid in Xinjiang, indicating that this technology route has moved from demonstration to batch deployment locally, offering direct reference value for the construction of clean energy bases in regions at the same latitude and with similar resource conditions.