Solar power plant built on saltern operational in north China

TIANJIN, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A new solar power plant built on a functional saltern has been connected to the grid and has begun generating power in north China's Tianjin Municipality.

Erected on a 1,333-hectare saltern in Tianjin's Binhai New Area, the 2.1 million solar panels can generate power while allowing salt production beneath to continue.

The project is capable of generating 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours of clean power per year, meeting the electricity needs of 1.5 million households while reducing about 1.25 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emission, according to the Tianjin branch of Huadian New Energy Group Corporation Ltd that runs the factory.

To minimize the impact on salt production, the distance between the panels is more than twice that of normal photovoltaic stations, while the height and angle of the solar panels have been adjusted, said the company.

Bifacial panels have also been adopted to utilize the light reflected from the water surface.

The new solar project has been hailed for not changing the original functions and the ecosystem of the land area it occupies, and for blazing a new industry of integrated clean energy and salt production.