Top 7 Largest Solar Parks in the World

The concept of the solar park was first developed in India & China a decade ago. The regional energy agencies in the states, such as Gujarat, Gansu & Qinghai identified suitable locations where there were several solar power plants that could be site altogether. The coordinators provided for a high-capacity grid connection & often procured or provided the land.  

The most notable early example is the Charanka Solar Park in India’s Patan district. When this was first opened in 2012, it had a combined capacity of 224MW_P from 19 individual solar power plants, of which the largest were 25_P MW each. It has been expanded to 500 MW of overall capacity.

Below we have mentioned the list of solar power parks, which are thought to have at least 1GWAC of current operational capacity. The position each held in 20219 lists are shown in the brackets. The list is still dominated by India & China, joined by the single entries in Egypt & the UAE, and a likely future entrant in the USA.

Bhadla Solar Park 2.7 GW (2)

• The Bhadla Solar Park covers about 160 km2 at Bhadlachuhron Ki in the north of India’s Rajasthan State, has expanded by around 1 GW since 2019, with several new plants, the largest of which is 300 MW.

• It will eventually accommodate nearly 30 Solar Plants with a total capacity of 3.5 GW_AC.

Golmud Desert Solar Park 2.8 GWAC

• Located in the desert to the East of Golmud in Qinghai Province in China, this solar park houses about 80 solar power plants with a combined capacity of over 2.8 GW_AC– up by gigawatt since the last list & includes a 200 MW ‘power tower’ CSP plant.

• It also houses a 200 MW PV plant by Huanghe- the largest individual solar power plant in the world, which was built in 2011.

Benban Solar Park, Egypt 1.3 GW (9)

• This compact solar park scarped into the last list before it was officially commissioned. It is now largely complete with about 27 blocks mostly of nominal 50 MW, though there is space for around a further 400 MW.

• The solar park covers around 37 sq. km in desert Egypt’s Aswan governorate & is the only solar park outside Asia on the list.

NP Kunta Solar Park 1.2 GW (7)

• It is also known as the Anantapur Ultra Mega Solar Park, it covers some 90 km2 in Nambula Pulakunta district of Andhra Pradesh, India.

• Promoted by the Andhra Pradesh Solar Power Corporation, it is scheduled for a total capacity of 1.5 GW, of which about 1.2 GW is currently believed to be operational, though the site has been dogged by various delays.

Jinchuan, Gansu 1.03 GW (5)

• Jinchuan in China’s Gansu province is surrounded by solar power plants. The solar park is almost 90 km2 of semi-desert to North West of the city, while a further cluster of the projects is to the south.

• The solar park has been increased to 15 plants with a combined capacity of just over 1 GW. Jinchuan’s largest plant has a capacity of over 200 MW.

Dananouxiang 1.02 GW (-)

• New entry at #8, covers 92 km2 of the semi-desert in Mori Kazakh district of Changji Hui Prefecture of China’s Xinjiang Province is this solar park to the north of the town of Danangouxiang.

• The current capacity of its 13 plants is over 1 GW & it has sufficient space to at least double in size in the future years.

Pavagada Solar Park 1.0 GW (4)

• It is collated on some 80 km2 of low-grade agricultural land in Karnataka state in India, to the northeast of the city of Pavagada, this solar park is now largely complete with 19 plants giving a combined capacity of 1 GW_AC.

• The solar park was sponsored by the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL) & the off-taker for most of its output is India’s National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).