The “dual carbon” goals lead the way. The construction of a new power system is accelerating. Under such background, solar thermal power generation has unique advantages. It has long-term energy storage and flexible peak regulation. It is becoming a key force in the transformation of the energy structure.

It was December 23, 2025. The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued a document. The document is called “Several Opinions on Promoting the Large-Scale Development of Solar Thermal Power Generation” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”). It draws a clear path for industrial development. It also defines specific goals. The introduction of this policy injects new vitality into the solar thermal power generation industry. The industry has been in the cultivation period for a long time.

“The friendliness of solar thermal power generation to the power grid comes first from its inherent energy storage capacity,” said Wang Yi. He is the vice president of the China Electricity Council Power Development Research Institute. Unlike wind power, which is irregular and intermittent, and photovoltaic power, which “generates electricity during the day and stops at night”, solar thermal power generation uses a molten salt heat storage system. It can convert solar energy collected during the day into heat energy for storage. It releases the heat to generate electricity during peak power consumption periods. This perfectly solves the industry pain point. The pain point is the mismatch between new energy power generation and power load.

He took photovoltaic power as an example to explain this difference vividly. “Power consumption is most concentrated during the evening peak. But photovoltaic power stops generating electricity because the sun sets. On the contrary, during the noon period when photovoltaic power generation is high, there is an oversupply of power. This leads to a sharp drop in electricity prices. In some areas, even negative electricity prices appear. This not only violates the laws of industrial development, but also damages the investment enthusiasm of new power stations,” Wang Yi said frankly. The emergence of negative electricity prices is not a sign of a mature power market. On the contrary, it exposes the inherent shortcomings of intermittent new energy such as photovoltaic power. Without energy storage support, the mismatch between its power generation curve and power demand will aggravate the imbalance between supply and demand of the power grid.

What is more noteworthy is that the authenticity and safety of solar thermal energy storage are far better than those of electrochemical energy storage. As an expert who has long been involved in judicial identification in the energy storage field, Wang Yi talked about the prominent problems in the current electrochemical energy storage industry. “Many energy storage power stations supporting photovoltaic power have the phenomenon of false capacity labeling. Their actual output power and energy storage capacity cannot meet the rated standards. Operating according to the calibrated parameters is likely to cause safety accidents such as fires,” he explained. Neither batteries nor converters can withstand large-scale overload. If the energy storage capacity is reduced by half, it is equivalent to letting the equipment operate at double load. This will inevitably lead to burnout and short circuit. Solar thermal energy storage uses molten salt as the medium. Its heat storage capacity is directly related to the scale of the storage tank and the temperature of the molten salt. “The size of the tank and the temperature determine the amount of stored heat. It is impossible to fake it at all.” This transparent energy storage feature ensures its reliability in power grid regulation.

In addition to the energy storage advantage, solar thermal power generation uses synchronous rotating motors. This enables it to have power grid support capacity similar to thermal power and hydropower. It has become a rare “power grid stabilizer” among new energy sources. Wang Yi introduced that the steam turbine generator set of solar thermal power generation has the same structure as that of thermal power. The high-speed rotating steam turbine has its own moment of inertia. It can respond quickly when the power grid frequency and voltage change suddenly. It can also reduce the fluctuation range.

China’s current new energy grid connection standards, such as GB/T 19963, GB/T 19964 and GB/T 29319, put forward a series of additional requirements for wind power and photovoltaic power. These requirements include low and high voltage ride-through and inertial support. But these requirements are inherent capabilities of solar thermal power generation. Wang Yi emphasized that solar thermal power generation does not need to install additional auxiliary equipment. It can meet the strict requirements of the power grid for stability. Its tolerance to voltage and frequency fluctuations is unmatched by wind power and photovoltaic power. Wind power and photovoltaic power are connected to the grid relying on power electronic equipment.

In terms of application scenario layout, the “Opinions” clearly defines three directions. They are the configuration of “desert, gobi and barren land” energy bases, the construction of supporting regulatory power stations, and the integration of solar thermal source, network, load and storage. These directions are not only in line with the distribution characteristics of China’s energy resources, but also accurately meet the needs of the construction of a new power system. Wang Zhifeng believes that this scenario-based planning will effectively guide capital investment and accelerate industrial landing.

Wang Yi analyzed that the large base supporting model is the optimal solution at this stage. Building a solar thermal power station alone has insufficient competitiveness in the short term. After the introduction of Document No. 136 (“Notice on Deepening the Market-Oriented Reform of New Energy On-Grid Tariffs to Promote the High-Quality Development of New Energy”), the traditional investment and financing models of power generation enterprises have failed. Especially state-owned enterprises are limited by compliance requirements. They cannot expand and seize the market through large-scale borrowing like private enterprises. The solar thermal industry, which is still in its “infancy”, cannot directly “compete” with traditional energy or mature new energy that has developed for decades.He further analyzed that there is huge room for growth in per capita electricity consumption in the future. Emerging high-energy-consuming industries such as big data centers have an urgent demand for stable power. The long-term energy storage characteristics of solar thermal power generation can just solve the intermittent problem of new energy power generation. It can complement photovoltaic and wind power in large bases. More importantly, the direct heating efficiency of solar thermal energy is much higher than the power generation efficiency. It has inherent advantages in comprehensive energy utilization. Supporting the construction of large bases can give full play to its multiple values.