JOURNALS: Kunming to Xinjiang flight - landscapes and solar

We had some of the most incredible views while flying from Kunming to Xinjing (I was sitting on the right side of the plane).

From the geography of the landscape to sights of the large scale solar plants in place - it felt like an educational experience in itself.

Based on a rough gauge according to the map on the plane, these shots start from around the Dunhuang area before we reached Urumqi.

Was particularly excited to see the solar plants - in particular the thermal solar plant! I didn’t know what it was until I shared the photo with a friend. Found some articles online on Xinjiang commissioning the world’s first 100MW Linear Fresnal CSP (concentrated solar power) Project in Hami - I think this might be the Hami Solar Thermal Power Plant as according to a 2024 article by the Global Times, it is the only solar thermal power plant in Xinjiang. According to the same article, Xinjiang has 13 solar thermal projects under construction, we actually did drive by one under construction alongside the road while we were on our tour.

Thermal solar plants work different from photovoltaic (PV) plants, which we more commonly think of when we hear of solar power. PV plants convert sunlight directly into electricity using solar cells. For thermal solar plants / CSP technology, a field of mirrors reflect and concentrate the sun’s energy to a receiver which stores it as thermal energy storage. When needed it creates steam to drive a turbine for electricity production.