World’s Largest Solar Power Plants
A CleanTechnica reader recently asked how Latin America’s largest solar farm would compare with the largest solar farms in North America. That led me to updating our lists of the largest solar PV and concentrated solar power (CSP) plants on our Solar Power page. I have to say, despite covering news from this industry every day, I was surprised to see how many more solar power plants above 100 megawatts (MW) in capacity have jumped onto these lists since I last updated them. I’ll have to be sure to update these lists more regularly.
As we’ve discussed many times before, solar PV and CSP are very different. I’ve actually heard one CSP insider say CSP plants are more similar to nuclear power plants than solar PV power plants. That’s probably the key reason I keep these lists separate. Before reposting the Solar Love article in which I just published these largest solar power plants, I’ll point out that all 22 solar PV power plants over 100 MW in size were completed in 2011 or later—just within the past 3 years! And then there’s also all the rooftop solar and smaller solar PV power plants that have gone up. In other words, solar PV is growing fast. And costs continue to drop. It’s even hard for those of us in the industry to keep up!
Largest Solar Power Plants In The World (CSP & Solar PV)
Below are two lists—the largest solar PV power plants in the world and the largest concentrated solar power plants in the world. I go down to solar power plants 100 MW in capacity in both instances. Things are changing fast in these solar industries, with large plants going up on a monthly basis. I’ll do my best to keep these lists up to date (so that you can bookmark this page and reference it later). Luckily, I cover these industries every day for a living, so hopefully I can do that.
Without further ado, here are the largest solar power plants in the world:
Largest Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Power Plants in the World
- “Topaz Solar Farm” in USA — 550 MW
- “Agua Caliente” in USA — 397 MW
- “California Valley Solar Ranch” in USA — 250 MW
- “Antelope Valley Solar Ranch” in USA — 230 MW
- “Charanka Solar Park” in China — 221 MW
- “Golmud Solar Park” in China — 200 MW
- “Imperial Solar Energy Center South” in USA — 200 MW
- “Centinela Solar Energy Project” in USA — 170 MW
- “Meuro Solar Park” in Germany — 166 MW
- “Mesquite Solar I” in USA — 150 MW
- “Copper Mountain Solar Facility” in USA — 150 MW
- “Neuhardenberg Airport Solar Park” in Germany — 145 MW
- “Catalina Solar Project” in USA — 143 MW
- “Campo Verde Solar Project” in USA — 139 MW
- Welspun Solar MP solar park in India — 130 MW
- “Templin Solar Park” in Germany — 128 MW
- “Arlington Valley Solar II” in USA — 127 MW
- “Centrale solaire de Toul-Rosières” in France — 115 MW
- “Perovo Solar Park” in Ukraine — 106 MW
- “Xitieshan Solar Park” in China — 100 MW
- “Gansu Jiayuguan Solar Park” in China — 100 MW
- “Ningxia Qingyang Solar Park” in China — 100 MW
- “Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant” in Canada — 97 MW
Largest Solar Thermal Power Plants in Operation
- “Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System” in the Mojave Desert of California, USA — 392 MW
- “Solar Energy Generating Systems” in California, USA — 354 MW
- “Solana Generating Station” in Arizona, USA — 280 MW
- “Solaben Solar Power Station” in Logrosán, Spain — 200 MW
- “Solnova Solar Power Station” in Seville, Spain — 150 MW
- “Andasol Solar Power Station” in Granada, Spain — 150 MW
- “Extresol Solar Power Station” in Torre de Miguel Sesmero, Spain — 150 MW
- “Shams 1” in Abu Dhabi, UAE — 100 MW (largest single-unit solar power plant in world)
- “Palma del Río Solar Power Station” in Córdoba, Spain — 100 MW
- “Manchasol Solar Power Station” in Ciudad Real, Spain — 100 MW
- “Valle Solar Power Station” in San José del Valle, Spain — 100 MW
- “Helioenergy Solar Power Station” in Écija, Spain — 100 MW
- “Aste Solar Power Station” in Alcázar de San Juan, Spain — 100 MW
- “Solacor Solar Power Station” in El Carpio, Spain — 100 MW
- “Helios Solar Power Station” in Puerto Lápice, Spain — 100 MW
- “Termosol Solar Power Station” in Navalvillar de Pela, Spain — 100 MW
For other solar records, be sure to check out our Solar Energy Facts & Solar Power Factspage.
Chime in below with extra information, comments, or questions! Or shoot me a message on Google+.
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