Overview
Huainan Floating CTGNE is a 150 MW solar PV facility located in Huainan, China. It is one of the world's largest floating solar plants, operational and contributing to China's renewable energy capacity.
Huainan Floating CTGNE is a 150 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) facility situated in Huainan, Anhui Province, China. As a floating solar plant, it is built on a man-made lake formed from a former coal mining subsidence area, making it a notable example of innovative land-use in renewable energy. The plant is operational and represents a significant scale in the floating solar sector, which is gaining traction globally for its dual benefits of energy generation and water conservation. The facility operates under China's national renewable energy framework, which includes feed-in tariffs and renewable portfolio standards aimed at achieving the country's ambitious carbon neutrality goals by 2060. With a capacity of 150 MW, it falls into the large-scale category for solar PV, particularly for floating installations. The plant uses standard solar PV technology mounted on floating platforms, which helps reduce water evaporation and algae growth while generating electricity. Environmentally, the Huainan Floating CTGNE plant demonstrates the potential for solar energy to repurpose degraded land and water bodies. It avoids land-use conflicts typical of ground-mounted solar farms and provides a model for integrating renewable energy with ecological restoration. The plant's output feeds into the local grid, supporting China's transition to cleaner energy sources and reducing reliance on coal-fired power in the region.
Environmental context
The Huainan region has a history of coal mining, leading to subsidence areas that have filled with water. The floating solar plant utilizes these water bodies, reducing land-use pressure and providing a dual use for otherwise unproductive areas. Floating solar panels also reduce water evaporation and inhibit algal blooms, benefiting local water quality. The facility contributes to China's renewable energy targets while addressing environmental challenges from mining.
Frequently asked questions
Huainan Floating CTGNE is located in Huainan, Anhui Province, China, on a man-made lake formed from a coal mining subsidence area.
The facility has a capacity of 150 MW, making it one of the largest floating solar plants in the world.
Floating solar panels are mounted on buoyant platforms that float on water bodies. They generate electricity similarly to ground-mounted solar but benefit from cooling effects of water, which can increase efficiency, and reduce water evaporation.
China supports solar energy through national feed-in tariffs, renewable portfolio standards, and subsidies under its 14th Five-Year Plan, aiming to achieve 1,200 GW of wind and solar capacity by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.
Floating solar plants reduce land-use conflicts, conserve water by reducing evaporation, and can improve water quality by limiting algae growth. They also utilize degraded or non-arable water bodies, such as mining subsidence lakes.