SolarPACES

Source: Dubai Government Media Office His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), announced the successful refinancing of the Noor Energy 1 project at USD 2.70 billion, well ahead of the target date, during a speech delivered at Al Sheraa Building, DEWA’s headquarters, in the presence of representatives of the lenders, sponsors, partners, and the Noor Energy 1 refinancing team.

China’s latest Five-Year Plan aims to actually absorb all the new renewable energy it continues to add each year. (A surge in CSP plants among them) Renewables have been built faster than the grid can absorb. In 2025 alone, China curtailed an estimated 360 TWh of intermittent power – up 49% from 2024. This under-utilization of existing new energy has brought new attention to transmission bottlenecks in China’s grid system.

On the closing day of SolarPACES 2026 in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany, Zhifeng Wang from the Chinese Academy of Science, Institute for Electrical Engineering was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his transformative leadership in advancing CSP in China. Professor Wang’s daughter accepted the award on his behalf. Professor Wang compiled China’s first national standard for concentrating solar power in 2012, which standardized the development of the whole industry.

From China Solar Thermal Alliance: October 1, 2026 PowerChina has connected its 1 GW (1000 MW) Gonghe solar project to the grid in the Talatan solar park in Gonghe County, Hainan Prefecture, Qinghai Province. (The gigantic Talatan solar park was made famous in the West, in an article in the NYT) The PowerChina tower CSP project, its second at Talatan, combines a 100MW molten salt tower CSP plant with 8 hours of thermal energy storage, with a 900MW photovoltaic plant.

To all relevant entities and individuals: In order to continuously demonstrate the unique appeal of concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies, capture scenes of construction, operationandmaintenance work and daily life at CSP power stations, and advance cultural communication within the CSP industry, the China Solar Thermal Alliance (CSTA) has decided to host the 4th Concentrated Solar Power Photographic Competition. Relevant arrangements are hereby notified as follows: I.

Here's what dispatchable solar looks like. This gigantic solar thermal energy storage tank holds enough stored sunlight to generate 1,100 MWh/day from stored solar power. The cheapest way to store solar energy over many hours, such as the five to seven hour evening...

Source: Press Release Zurich, September 8, 2026: Synhelion has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Morocco with the aim to develop a large-scale commercial synthetic fuel plant in the country’s southern Tan-Tan province. The facility is planned to produce 100’000 tons of renewable fuel per year. Synhelion has already secured a land reservation for the project site and established a branch, Synhelion Morocco – concrete steps toward implementation.

Patents for thermal energy storage have soared over the last eight years, according to the patent filing source patsnap. We’ve covered stand-alone thermal energy storage using solid materials like sand, bricks, concrete, slag and ceramic waste, and delivered as hot air or steam. Cost-effective thermal energy storage, now independant from CSP plants, is coming into its own with its ability to directly decarbonize industrial heat.

Source: China Solar Thermal Alliance: The core heat absorption system installation has been successfully completed for the Tibet Development & Investment Anduo Tushuo 100 MW tower solar thermal project, constructed by POWERCHINA SEPCO1 in Tibet. (Map) All 16 solar receiver tube panels have been hoisted into position atop the tower. The hoisting operation presented extreme challenges due to the complex equipment structure and stringent precision requirements.

Synhelion says they have hired the engineering firm Saipem to carry out preliminary engineering work for a commercial-scale synthetic fuel plant at an RWE industrial site in Hürth-Knapsack, Germany. The plant is expected to produce 30,000 tons annually of renewable synthetic fuels, mainly for aviation, along with synthetic diesel and gasoline for shipping and road transport.