The new largest solar farm in the world
Today’s Image of the Day comes thanks to NASA’s Earth Observatory and features an overhead view of the largest solar farm in the world: Longyangxia Dam Solar Park in China. The photo was captured by NASA’s Operational Land Imager (OLI) onboard the Lansat 8 satellite.
As of this month, the massive solar farm contains nearly 4 million solar panels, generating 840 MW of energy. The solar park has been steadily growing over the past 4 years and now covers over 10 square miles of China’s Qinghai province.
Longyangxia Dam Solar Park takes the title of largest solar farm from its previous holder, India’s Kamuthi Solar Power Project in Tamil Nadu with 648 MW of capacity. Prior to that, in 2015, California’s Solar Star farm held the lead with 579 MW of capacity. And before that, in 2014, California’s Topaz Solar Farm was the leader with 550 MW of capacity
China has invested a great deal into growing its solar power sector. Just last year alone, the nation’s total installed solar capacity doubled, making China the world’s largest producer of solar power. Bloomberg has reported that China plans to build an even bigger solar farm in the Ningxia area with a capacity of 2,000 MW.
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By Rory Arnold, Earth.com Staff Writer
Source: NASA Earth Observatory
