Twenty Years of Green Progress: China's solar thermal technology lights way to greener world

As the sun rises over the eastern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, over 14,500 pentagonal heliostats are arranged in concentric circles around a solar tower. Like sunflowers tracking the sun, they follow its path to focus and collect heat. This is how the 50-megawatt molten salt solar thermal power plant works in Hami, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

As night falls in Northern Cape Province, South Africa, the heliostats gradually return to their resting positions. The molten salt, heated to 565 degrees Celsius during the day, continues to release stored heat, ensuring a steady power supply. As Africa's first 100-megawatt solar thermal power station built by a Chinese enterprise, it stands as a new milestone in China-Africa green energy cooperation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping noted that how to properly address the relationship between growth and protection is a global challenge and an eternal topic faced by human society.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets." Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, China's experience in ecological governance is spreading the seeds of green development around the world.

Solar thermal power station in Xinjiang generates electricity by chasing sunlight

At sunrise, Zhao Jing, chief controller at Hami Electric Power Technology Service Co., Ltd. under China Energy Engineering Group Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd., first checks the weather. If it's sunny, Zhao immediately starts preparing molten salt and then activates the generators, ensuring the system stores as much energy as possible.

Hami receives up to 3,380 hours of sunlight each year, ranking it among the sunniest places in China. This intense sunlight makes Hami an ideal location for developing the solar energy industry.

Photo shows the 50-megawatt molten salt tower solar thermal power plant in Yiwu county, Hami, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo courtesy of the Yiwu County Media Integration Center)

Thousands of heliostats focus sunlight onto a receiver at the top of a tower, heating molten salt inside. The hot molten salt then produces steam by heating water, which drives turbines to generate electricity continuously, said Zhao.

Since starting operations, the power plant generates 198 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, which is enough to power 240,000 people for a year. It also saves about 61,900 tonnes of standard coal and cuts carbon dioxide emissions by 154,800 tonnes each year, with zero pollutant discharge.

Thousands of heliostats focus sunlight on the solar tower at the 50-megawatt molten salt tower solar thermal power plant in Yiwu county, Hami, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo courtesy of the Yiwu County Media Integration Center)

At the Climate Ambition Summit in 2020, President Xi announced that China will bring its total installed capacity of wind and solar power to over 1.2 billion kilowatts by 2030. This target was reached six years ahead of schedule in 2024.

China has built the world's largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system as well as the largest and most complete new energy industrial chain. The country leads the world in installed capacity for hydropower, wind, solar, and biomass energy.

An April report from the UK energy think tank Ember shows that China contributed more than half of the global increase in both solar and wind generation in 2024.

Staff members drive between rows of heliostats as they carry out operations at the 50-megawatt molten salt tower solar thermal power plant in Yiwu county, Hami, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (People's Daily Online/Yuan Meng)

China-Africa cooperation sets new benchmark for green development

In sub-Saharan Africa, thousands of heliostats shimmer under the sun. They're part of the 100 MW Redstone Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Project—the first facility of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, built by a Chinese company.

Photo shows the 100 MW Redstone Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Project in Postmasburg, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. (Photo/Kgothatso Mogashoa)

"Once fully operational, the plant will deliver around 480 gigawatt-hours of clean electricity to South Africa's grid annually, which is enough to power over 200,000 households. It will help ease the local energy shortage and reduce dependence on fossil fuels," said Xie Yanjun, chief engineer of the project from SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Corporation.

Chinese and South African staff members work together at the 100 MW Redstone Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Project in Postmasburg, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. (Photo/Kgothatso Mogashoa)

The project has created around 1,800 jobs, with over 85 percent of the workforce hired locally. It has also brought an estimated 7.5 billion rand (about $415 million) in investment to the South African economy, providing a strong boost to local development.

Clayton Raad, project mechanical division supervisor, and Mthoko Ngidi, deputy project director, inspect heliostats at the 100 MW Redstone Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Project in Postmasburg, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. (Photo/Kgothatso Mogashoa)

Clayton Raad, mechanical supervisor at the project, said that it was the Chinese company and the Chinese friends who brought the idea of green development to South Africa. According to him, China not only brings advanced technology to the world, it also offers hope for a sustainable future.

Wildlife crosses beneath heliostats at the 100 MW Redstone Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Project in Postmasburg, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. (Photo/Kgothatso Mogashoa)

The year 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," and the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement. When addressing the Leaders Meeting on Climate and the Just Transition in April 2025, President Xi said that China is ready to work with other parties to earnestly honor the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, do their utmost respectively and collectively, and build a clean, beautiful, and sustainable world together.

Data shows that China supplies around 60 percent of the world's wind power equipment and 70 percent of photovoltaic module equipment. In 2023, Chinese wind and solar products helped other countries reduce carbon emissions by approximately 810 million tonnes.

Staff members work at the 100 MW Redstone Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Project in Postmasburg, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. (Photo/Kgothatso Mogashoa)

Nasser Bouchiba, president of the Africa-China Cooperation Association for Development in Morocco, said that China has set an example in green development and offers valuable insights for other developing countries.

To date, China has signed memorandums of understanding on South-South cooperation on climate change with more than 40 developing countries, and formed the Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition with over 170 partners from more than 40 countries.