China’s first solar-biomass power plant opens

The first combined solar and biomass power plant in China is due to come fully online later this month.

The biomass section of the Zhejiang Longquan Biomass Power Plant is complete and operational and the two biomass energy generators are producing a combined capacity of 162 million kWh of electricity annually.

The solar power section of the new plant, a 1.44 MW photovoltaic power generation system, is scheduled for completion later this month.

The plant is expected to begin generating combined solar and biomass energy by August.

Solar will add 1.3 million kWh to the facilities electricity output, equivalent to burning 430 tonnes of coal a year.

Biomass in eastern China is sourced from local businesses and civilians, who can sell biodegradable or recycled rural waste for the power plant.

China is on course to add more than 17 GW of solar PV capacity in 2015, according to a research from IHS.

The country’s National Energy Administration (NEA) has set the target of installing 15 GW of solar PV this year.