Today, many countries in the renewable energy market seek to increase their electricity generation from the sun, which leads to gigantic projects.
One of the goals of such development is to reduce dependence on traditional energy sources, such as coal, natural gas, and oil, which today are an economically unstable and problematic part of the energy sector. Global renewable capacity is expected to grow by more than 8%. Moreover, 60% of this increase will come from solar energy.
In addition to China, the USA, and India, many small countries also receive intense sunshine almost all year round. This mass production of solar electricity by solar parks and farms could be the key to meeting this planet’s electricity needs. Thus, solar panel installation for every home is likely the future we all need.
China currently leads the world in solar energy production with over 300 gigawatts of installed capacity. However, many countries have set ambitious solar energy goals for the future and are building large power plants to meet their energy needs, which I will list below:
Bhadla Solar Park (India)
Name: Bhadla Solar Park
Location: Bhadla, Jodhpur District, Rajasthan
Installed capacity: 2245 MW ( 2.25 GW)
Commissioning: March 20, 2020
Investments in the project: Investment in construction is more than 1.3 billion dollars.
Huanghe Hydropower Hainan Solar Park (China)
Name: Huanghe Hydropower Hainan
Location: Golmud, Qinghai Province, China
Installed capacity: 2200 MW ( 2.2 GW)
Commissioning: October 2020
Investment in the project: Investment in the construction of more than 2.3 billion dollars
Pavagada Solar Park (India)
Name: Pavagada Solar Park
Location: Pavagada Taluk, Tumkur District, Karnataka, India
Installed capacity: 2050 MW ( 2.05 GW)
Commissioning: January 2018
Investments in the project: Investments in construction are more than 2.5 billion dollars.
Benban Solar Park (Egypt)
Name: Benban Solar Park
Location: Benban, Aswan Governorate (Desert), Daraw Markaz City, Egypt
Installed capacity: 1650 MW ( 1.65 GW)
Commissioning: 2019
Investment in the project: investment in construction over $4 billion
Longyangxia Dam Solar Park (China)
Name: Longyangxia Dam Solar Park
Location: Gonghe County, Qinghai Province, China
Installed capacity: 850 MW ( 0.85 GW) + hydropower plant 1280 MW
Commissioning: 2015
Project investment: over $920.84 million in construction investment (excluding hydroelectric plant)
Tengger Desert Solar Park (China)
Name: Tengger Desert Solar Park
Location: Zhongwei, Ningxia, China
Installed capacity: 1,547 MW ( 1.55 GW)
Commissioning: 2015
Investments in the project: Investments in construction of more than 2.2 billion dollars
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park (UAE)
Title: Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park
Location: Seikh Al Dahal, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Installed capacity: 1,313 MW ( 1.3 GW)
Commissioning: October 22, 2013
Investments in the project: Investments in construction of more than 4.4 billion dollars
Solar power plant Ouarzazate – Nour (Morocco)
Name: Ouarzazate Solar Power Station
Location: Ouarzazate city, Gesat village council area, Draa-Tafilalet region, Morocco
Installed capacity: 510 MW ( 0.5 GW)
Commissioning: February 2016
Investment in the project: investment in construction over $2.5 billion
Copper Mountain Solar Power Plant (USA)
Name: Copper Mountain Solar Facility
Location: Boulder City, Nevada, USA
Installed capacity: 802 MW (0.8 GW)
Commissioning: December 1, 2010
Investment in the project: investment in construction over $1.5 billion
Karapinar Solar Power Plant (Türkiye)
Title: Karapınar Güneş Enerjisi Santrali
Location: Karapınar District, Konya Province, Turkey
Installed capacity: 1300 MW ( 1.3 GW)
Commissioning: September, 2020
Investment in the project: investment in construction over $1.3 billion
Escatron-Ciprana-Samper solar power plant (Spain)
Name: Escatron-Chiprana-Samper
Location: Municipality of Escatron (Zaragoza), Spain
Installed capacity: 850 MW ( 0.85 GW)
Commissioning: 2020
Investment in the project: Investment in the construction of more than 500 million euros
Solar power plant Xuan Tien Dak Lak (Vietnam)
Title: Xuân Thiện Đắk Lắk (Xuan Thien Dak Lak)
Location: Ea Sup District, Dak Lak Province, Vietnam
Installed capacity: 831 MW ( 0.83 GW)
Commissioning: February 2020
Investment in the project: Investments in the construction of more than 862 million dollars
Villanueva Solar Park (Mexico)
Name: Villanueva Solar Park
Location: Viesca City, Coahuila State, Mexico
Installed capacity: 828 MW ( 0.83 GW)
Commissioning: 2018
Investment in the project: Investments in the construction of more than 715 million dollars
The increasing focus on solar energy and the development of large solar parks and farms in numerous countries signal a significant shift towards reducing reliance on traditional energy sources, driving global renewable capacity growth, and potentially meeting a substantial portion of the planet’s electricity needs.