Top 15 Largest Solar Power Plants in The World
A solar revolution is underway with global solar power capacity expected to exceed 2 TW by 2025. Amid the growing urgency of climate change, the emergence of solar parks capable of generating clean energy couldn’t be more timely. This blog explores the largest solar power parks in the world, from the Midong Solar Park in China to the Bhadla Solar Park in India
15 Largest Solar Parks in the World
Here is the list of the 15 largest solar power parks in the world:
1. Xinjiang Midong Solar Park
Country: China
Area: 133.33 sq. km
Capacity: 3.5 GW
Fully commissioned in June 2024, the Xinjiang Midong Solar Park is one of the largest solar power plants in the world. It has annual power generation capacity of 6.09 billion kWh. Located in China’s northwestern province of Xinjiang, it has over 52.6 lakh 650 W monocrystalline bifacial double-glass solar panels.
China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corp and Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) built it for 15.45 billion Chinese yuan ($2.13 billion). As per a Reuters report, it generates enough electricity to power Papua New Guinea for a year.
2. Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park
Country: UAE
Area: 77 Sq. Km
Capacity: 2.863 GW
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is developing the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. It is going to be one of the biggest solar power plants in the world with the production capacity increased to 5 GW by 2030.
The total cost of the solar park stands at AED 50 billion ($13.61 billion). Upon completion, it will save over 65 lakh tons of CO2 emissions annually.
The first 5 phases of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park are complete. Its 6th phase will be commissioned in stages between 2024 and 2026. Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology is used at the solar park.
3. Golmud Solar Park
Country: China
Area: 2.58 sq. km
Capacity: 2.8 GW
Golmud Solar Park has 80 solar plants which can power over 10 lakh households. The project cost $587.22 million. China Longyuan Power Group developed the project and SDIC Huajing Power Holdings is its current owner.
This plant presently has over 70 lakh solar panels and its capacity will be increased to 16 GW in 4 to 5 years. It annually generated around 16.750 GWh of electricity.
Here’s a video on the Golmud Solar Park. Please note that some of the facts may be slightly outdated:
Source: Huawei FusionSolar
4. Bhadla Solar Park
Country: India
Area: 56 Sq. Km
Capacity: 2.245 GW
The Bhadla Solar Park is India’s largest solar park. Located in the Thar desert, it was built at a cost of over Rs. 10,000 crore. It can power over 10 lakh homes and has over 1 crore solar panels. It reduces 6,94,471 tonnes of CO2 annually and Eccoppia robots are used to clean the solar panels. The Bhadla Solar Park is playing an important role in helping India meet its climate change commitments. The annual power generation capacity of Bhadla solar park is 732.874 GWh.
5. Pavagada Solar Park
Country: India
Area: 57.46 sq. km
Capacity: 2.05 GW
The Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka was built at Rs. 16,500 crore. Plans are underway to make it one of the world’s biggest solar power plants by increasing its capacity by 3 GW. The Karnataka Solar Power Development Corporation Limited (KSPDCL) is the implementing agency for the Pavagada Solar Park. It generated around 4500 GWh of electricity per annum.
KSPDCL leased land from around 2,300 farmers for 25 to 35 years to build this park. Also known as Shakti Sthala, it supplies 1850 MW to ESCOMs of Karnataka and 200 MW to Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited.
6. Al Dhafra Solar Park
Country: UAE
Area: 21 sq. km
Capacity: 2 GW
40 lakh bifacial solar panels at the Al Dhafra solar PV plant power over 2 lakh homes and reduce CO2 emissions by 24 lakh tons annually. It is located at a distance of 35 km from Abu Dhabi. Robots clean the panels at Al Dhafra.
During construction, solar panels were installed at 10 MW per day. TAQA owns 40%, Masdar owns 20%, while EDF Renewables and Jinko Power own a 20% stake each in Al Dahfra.
7. Benban Solar Park
Country: Egypt
Area: 37.2 Sq. Km
Capacity: 1.8 GW
Benban Solar Park is the largest solar park in the continent of Africa. Its 41 solar power plants prevent CO2 emissions of 20 lakh tons every year. The solar panels at Benban Solar Park have a size in the range of 1,200 x 600 mm to 2,000 mm x 1,000 mm. Benban is a part of Egypt’s Nubian Suns Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff (FiT) programme.
$4 billion was invested in the Benban Solar Park. Investors include the International Financial Corporation (IFC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the United Nations’ Green Climate Fund (GCF). A 16 km pipeline from the Nile River supplies water to the solar park.
8. Tengger Desert Solar Park
Country: China
Area: 43 Sq. Km
Capacity: 1.51 GW
China National Grid and Zhongwei Power Supply Co. jointly developed the Tengger Desert Solar Park, one of the biggest solar power farms in the world. Its 35 lakh solar panels power more than 6 lakh homes. It avoids burning 19.2 lakh tons of coal annually. Plans are underway to increase its capacity. The solar park has the potential to generate 5.78 billion kilowatts per year.
9. Sudair Solar Park
Country: Saudi Arabia
Area: 30.8 Sq. Km
Capacity: 1.50 GW
ACWA Power and Water and Electricity Holding Company (Badeel) each own a 35% stake in the solar park while Saudi Aramco Power Company (SAPCO) holds 30%. It was built for $924 million. Electricity produced at the Sudair Solar Park will be sold to Saudi Power Procurement Company at $0.012 per kWh for 25 years. Solar electricity from the Sudair Solar Park can power 1,85,000 households and prevent about 29 lakh tons of CO2 emissions per year.
10. Kalyon Karapinar Solar Power Plant
Country: Turkey
Area: 20 sq. km
Capacity: 1.35 GW
The Kalyon Karapinar Solar Park has 35 lakh solar panels which eliminate 17 lakh tons of CO2 emissions annually. It was built with an investment of $1 billion and meets the power needs of 20 lakh people. East-West single-axis tracking systems increase the efficiency of the solar panels by 15%. It can generate around 3000 GWh of power yearly.
11. Noor Abu Dhabi Solar Power Project
Country: Abu Dhabi
Area: 8 sq. km
Capacity: 1.2 GW
Noor Abu Dhabi Solar Power Plant has 33 lakh monocrystalline solar panels whose efficiency can reach 20%. One of the unique things about Noor Abu Dhabi is the east-west orientation of the solar panels. It ensures that energy production is more evenly distributed throughout the day. The solar park can generate around yearly 2000 GWh of power.
Over 1,400 dry cleaning robots travel 800 km every day to clean the 33 lakh solar panels. Sweihan PV Power Company (SPPC) owns and operates the plant as per a shareholding arrangement. Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) owns 60% of the company, while Marubeni Corporation and Jinko Solar hold 20% each.
12. Datong Solar Power Top Runner Base
Country: China
Area: 6.3 Sq. Km
Capacity: 1.1 GW
Datong Solar Power Top Runner Base in China is an under-construction solar park. The present capacity of the park is 1.1 GW while an additional 600 MW is under construction. Its annual power generation capacity is over 3500 GWh. In addition, the plant is proposed to expand its capacity to 3 GW to become one of the largest solar parks in the world.
It has the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 10 lakh tonnes which is equivalent to around 45,000 tree plantations to reduce environmental pollution.
13. Khavda Solar Park
Country: India
Area: 538 sq. km
Capacity: 1 GW
Adani Green Energy commissioned 1 GW of solar power at the Khavda Solar Park in March 2024. Once the park’s full capacity is commissioned, it will have 26 GW of solar capacity and 4 GW of wind power generation capacity. Upon completion, the project will occupy an area almost as big as Mumbai. Adani aims to install 7 crore 50 lakh solar panels at Khavda by 2029.
14. Jinchuan Solar Park
Country: China
Area: 90 sq. km
Capacity: 1 GW
Jinchuan Solar Park can offset carbon emissions by 8,85,000 tons every year with its present capacity. However, there is a proposed plan to expand its capacity by another 15 plants will contribute to its increased performance in terms of solar power generation and carbon offsetting capabilities. The solar park generates 2 GWh to 8 GWh electricity per day.
15. Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park - India
Country: India
Area: 23 sq. km
Capacity: 1 GW
Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park’s 45.8 lakh solar panels reduce CO2 emissions by 18,92,160 tonnes annually. Its annual electricity generation capacity is 2,102.4 GWh. The Andhra Pradesh Solar Power Corporation Private Limited (APSPCL) set up the solar park.
It will reduce annual CO2 emissions by 1,892,160 tonnes. Greenko developed 500 MW of the total capacity, SoftBank Energy contributed 350 MW, Azure Power added 100 MW, and Adani Group-backed Prayatna Developers completed the remaining 50 MW.
1 Comment
Shekhar Sharma
Amazing!