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Huge 6.7MW Solar Station Meets High-Speed Rail in Shanghai, China

July 20, 2010 By 3 Comments
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The world’s largest stand-alone integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) project began transmitting power to the electric grid in Shanghai on Sunday.

This 6.68-megawatt ($23.6 million) solar system, which can produce 6.3 million kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity per year (enough power for 12,000 Shanghai households), will cut coal consumption by 2,254 tons and will reduce carbon emissions by 6,600 tons.

And, as a solar and high-speed rail enthusiast, a really cool aspect of this project for me is that it was built on top of the newly completed Hongqiao Station (on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway line).

“Its 20,000 solar panels cover a roof area of 61,000 sq m and have produced 300,000 kwh power since the 160 million-yuan project began operation two weeks ago,” Xinhuanet News reports.

“The project is another manifestation of China’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions to fight climate change. It comes after the country set a voluntary target of cutting carbon intensity per unit of GDP by 40 to 45 percent by 2020,” said Yu Hailong, general manager of the the project’s developer, the Beijing-based China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group (CECEP).

This pilot project will help to stimulate more solar energy development in China, Hailong said, and will also promote the creation of more environmentally friendly railway stations.

Chief engineer of the Ministry of Railway Zheng Jian confirmed this, saying that railway stations are an ideal place to promote and implement solar technology.

“BIPV technology does not take up extra space, because it is integrated into buildings’ design and construction. It is especially suitable for China’s eastern areas, where there are limited land resources yet greater energy demand,” Chen said.

This new project in Shanghai is actually not the first such project in China, but it is the largest.

Another large stand-alone integrated PV solar system (though, still about 3 times smaller than this one) was actually installed at Wuhan Station, part of the Wuhan-Guangzhou High-speed Railway, recently and was connected to the grid in May.

Development of more renewable energy is a big priority in China. So is high-speed rail. Combining the two is natural and may become the norm soon over there.

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Photo Credit: RechargeNews

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About Zachary Shahan

If you couldn't guess, I spend most of my time on CleanTechnica and Planetsave. I'm the director/editor of both sites and am a little obsessed with them. I'm also Publishing Services Manager at Important Media, which means that I do everything I can to support other Important Media writers, editors, and directors (as well as the network as a whole) in the good work they are engaged in. You can also find my written work on Scientific American, Reuters, Change.org, and most of the sites in the Important Media network. For a full list of my author pages on sites around the internet, or to connect with me on common social networks, go to zacharyshahan.com

  • http://www.ongreen.com Jeff

    This is great to hear. More countries / projects need to integrate renewable power into their plans.

    I have heard China is really investing heavily into wind power to be their alternative power of the future. It is good to see they are being diverse as well.

  • Bill Woods

    “Huge 6.7MW Solar Station …”

    “Huge” in what sense? 6.7 megawatts isn’t that big, and the average power, 0.7 MW, is even less so. The Xinhuanet story calls it a “pilot project”.

    The unit cost, 3.5 $/W(peak) or 32 $/W(average), is pretty big.

  • http://www.motornature.com/ green driver

    I wonder about the electrical energy consumption of that high speed train. I would love to see a train powered by renewable energy, but I don’t think that’s the case here.

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