China has opened a 2-gigawatt desert saline lake floating solar farm covering 50 square kilometres in Xinjiang.

 

China has opened a 2-gigawatt desert saline lake floating solar farm covering 50 square kilometres in Xinjiang.

The Xinjiang Floating Solar Complex uses 5.2 million bifacial solar panels mounted on polymer pontoon systems across the Ebinur Lake salt flat, a seasonally flooded saline basin that previously had little productive use. The site receives 3,200 kilowatt-hours of direct normal irradiance per square metre each year, among the highest levels in China. Cooling from the water surface improves panel efficiency by 15 percent compared with nearby ground-mounted solar installations.

The bifacial panels capture sunlight from above while also collecting reflected light from the highly saline white mineral lake bed during low-water periods. The salt crust reflects 40 percent of incoming light back toward the rear surfaces of the panels, creating a dual-irradiance effect that has made the Xinjiang project the highest-performing floating solar installation per panel verified under independent measurement conditions.

The facility’s 2-gigawatt output supplies electricity to approximately 1.5 million homes and feeds China’s west-east power transmission corridor. China has also approved eight additional saline-lake floating solar projects across Xinjiang, representing a combined 12 gigawatts of capacity scheduled through 2028.

Source: China Three Gorges Corporation, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Energy Bureau, Nature Energy, 2025

#chinasolar #xinjiangfloatingsolar #floatingsolar #cleanenergy #renewableenergy #desertsolar