China has started soliciting tenders for the construction of a 50 MW solar thermal power plant, marking the country's first foray into the technology.
The new plant will be built on 100 ha of land in Hangjinqi, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, according to the People's Daily Online, and is expected to be the basis for the uptake of solar thermal technology in China.
China's National Energy Administration has charged the China Machinery and Equipment International Tendering Co. with overseeing the bidding process for the 50 MW plant, which will cost around 1.6 billion yuan ($240 million) to build. The tenders are scheduled to be opened in January 2011.
The plant was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission in 2007. Its initial planning and feasibility report was written by Inner Mongolia STP Development Co. Ltd., a joint venture between Inner Mongolia Lenon New Energy Liability Co. Ltd and the German company, Solar Millennium AG.
Solar thermal technology is in its infancy in China. The Institute of Electrical Engineering at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IEECAS) is building a 1 MW solar thermal demonstration plant in Beijing's Badaling township.
An alliance of over 30 Chinese companies and research institutes in 2009 formed the National Alliance for Solar Thermal Energy and is planning to build a 1000 MW solar thermal plant in west China by 2015.
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