SEPCOIII, Zhonghaiyang, Longteng Solar‑Thermal, Huiyin, and other companies have already secured a foothold in the international solar‑thermal market. Let’s take a look at which other firms are actively expanding into overseas solar‑thermal power generation markets.

　　 CSPPLAZA Solar Thermal Power Generation Network reports: For a long time, the domestic solar‑thermal market has remained stagnant, leaving it largely dependent on external demand. As a result, Chinese companies have struggled to gain traction in international competition, often hampered by a lack of proven track records.

Even so, some domestic manufacturers have already taken the lead in breaking into the international concentrated solar power market, successfully exporting China’s CSP technologies and engineering expertise, as well as its CSP products, thereby earning China’s CSP sector attention and a strong reputation on the global stage.

This article reviews Chinese companies that have proactively positioned themselves in the overseas concentrated solar power market, examining their activities from the perspectives of EPC contracting, engineering consulting services, and equipment supply.

· EPC and Engineering Consulting Services ·

　　Due to the scarcity of commercial concentrating solar power (CSP) plant projects, Chinese companies still lack substantial experience in overall system design, integration, and plant construction and operation. A small number of firms, led by Shandong Electric Power Construction No. 3 Engineering Company (SEPCO III), are exploring overseas CSP EPC projects through partnerships with international contractors and have made notable progress.

1. Shandong Electric Power Construction No. 3 Engineering Company

　　A joint venture between SEPCOⅢ and Spain’s Sener has undertaken the EPC contract for Morocco’s Noor 2 parabolic‑trough solar thermal power plant, with an installed capacity of 200 MW, and the Noor 3 tower‑type solar thermal power plant, with an installed capacity of 150 MW. SEPCOⅢ is responsible for the project’s civil engineering works, the supply of conventional island equipment, as well as the procurement and installation of the thermal storage system and ancillary systems.

　　At present, with the participation of SEPCO III, the Noor 2 and Noor 3 projects are progressing steadily and are expected to be fully completed in the second half of this year and next year, respectively.

　　In addition to the Noor 2 and Noor 3 projects, SEPCO III has also formed a joint venture with France’s Engie to bid for the 200 MW tower‑type concentrated solar power project in Phase I of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is being developed by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). The consortium has successfully passed the prequalification process, and the winning bidder will be announced in the second half of this year.

2. Shouhang Energy-Saving Solar Thermal Technology Co., Ltd.

　　The joint venture formed by Shouhang Energy-Saving Solar Thermal Technology Co., Ltd. and Saudi Arabia’s Alfanar Company had previously submitted a bid for the 200 MW tower‑type concentrated solar power project in Phase I of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is being developed by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), and has passed the prequalification process. The winning bidder will be announced in the second half of this year.

3 Northwest Electric Power Design Institute Co., Ltd.

　　Northwest Electric Power Design Institute Co., Ltd. participated in the design of the receiver tower for Morocco’s Noor 3 tower‑type concentrated solar power plant. During the detailed design phase of the receiver tower, the company utilized its self‑developed “parameterized analysis software, based on ACI 307‑08 and implemented in ANSYS,” for input generation and structural analysis, thereby significantly enhancing design efficiency.

· Equipment Supply ·

　　Concentrated solar power (CSP) systems are relatively complex and involve a long industrial value chain. After years of technological research and development, China is now capable of domestically producing virtually all the key components and major equipment for CSP systems, and a preliminary industrial ecosystem has taken shape. In particular, critical components such as heliostats and receiver tubes have reached the stage where they can be manufactured on a commercial scale. Meanwhile, a cohort of equipment suppliers with solid technical expertise and production capacity has emerged; even some companies that have struggled to gain traction in the Chinese CSP market are actively exploring overseas opportunities.

Meanwhile, some traditional equipment manufacturers in the concentrated solar power (CSP) sector have also begun to identify market opportunities in overseas CSP projects.

1. Huiyin Group (collecting tube supplier)

　　In 2013, Huiyin Group successfully secured an exclusive supply contract with Areva for the Reliance Fresnel‑type concentrated solar power project in India, with an installed capacity of 125 MW. Subsequently, Huiyin Group partnered with Areva to participate in the 5 MW TEP CSP‑fired power‑plant expansion project in the United States. In addition, the Stillwater hybrid solar‑geothermal power plant operated by U.S.-based Skyfuel, with a capacity of 33 MW, also utilized products from Huiyin Group. Meanwhile, Huiyin has been involved in the construction of several large‑scale commercial CSP plants in Spain and, in 2015, supplied receiver tubes for Novatec’s molten‑salt Fresnel project in Germany. From late 2015 to early 2016, Huiyin Group further won four consecutive orders to supply receiver tubes for overseas commercial CSP projects, totaling nearly 10,000 vacuum receiver tubes and approximately 100,000 meters of coated steel tubing.

2. Changzhou Longteng Solar Thermal Technology Co., Ltd. (collecting tube supplier)

　　Changzhou Longteng has established a large-scale production line for high-performance solar thermal collector tubes that meets international standards. On December 29, 2015, the company officially shipped the first batch of 2,055 high-temperature vacuum collector tubes to an international market client—a 50 MW commercial parabolic‑trough power plant—marking a significant breakthrough in China’s core components for concentrated solar power. In November 2016, Changzhou Longteng secured the contract to supply all the vacuum collector tubes for India’s first solar‑thermal–coal hybrid power project, which is being developed by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).

3. Zhonghaiyang Energy Group Co., Ltd. (mirror supplier)

　　Chengdu Chande Solar, a subsidiary of China Haiyang Energy Group Co., Ltd., is a specialized manufacturer of heliostats. To date, it has replaced and upgraded a portion of the heliostats at the U.S. SEGS concentrated solar power plants and supplied heliostats for a solar‑thermal project in India. Additionally, it has provided test samples to a German company. Its heliostat products have been recognized by international clients such as Sener, Cobra, and TSK and have been included in these companies’ supplier databases.

4. Lanzhou Dacheng Technology Co., Ltd. (collecting tube supplier)

　　On February 8, 2017, Lanzhou Dacheng’s HCE90 large‑diameter vacuum solar collector tubes—featuring a 90 mm metal inner tube diameter—successfully passed the customer’s on‑site acceptance inspection. On February 10, all the collector tubes were loaded onto trucks for delivery and shipment. The Lanzhou Dacheng HCE90 collector tubes have been recommended by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This batch of exported large‑diameter collector tubes will be used in a solar‑energy project in California, USA.

5. Tianrui Solar Thermal Technology Co., Ltd. (collecting tube supplier)

　　In November 2015, Tianruixing signed a product procurement contract with OHL, Spain’s largest construction company. Under this agreement, medium- and high-temperature solar collector tubes developed by Tianruixing based on aerospace technology will be deployed in the FuturoSolar project, a joint initiative between OHL and the Technical University of Madrid. In addition, Tianruixing has supplied its products to experimental projects in Egypt, India, Australia, and other countries.

6. Zhejiang Daming Glass Co., Ltd. (mirror supplier)

　　Zhejiang Daming Glass Co., Ltd., with a production capacity of 4.5 million square meters per year—enough to supply approximately 400 MW of concentrating solar power plants—for flat‑plate solar mirrors and 3.6 million square meters per year—sufficient for about 300 MW of trough‑type plants—for trough‑type reflectors, has, through years of technological expertise and dedicated efforts in overseas markets, provided both flat‑plate and trough‑type solar reflectors for numerous international projects, including Reliance Power’s 125 MW Fresnel project in India, the PSA platform’s trough‑type experimental loop in Spain, and FPL‑SEGS’s trough‑type project in the United States. The company has also established partnerships with CSP projects across the United States, North Africa, the Middle East, and India.

7. Dongfang Honghai New Energy Development Co., Ltd. (Stirling engines and dish‑type concentrated solar power systems)

　　On June 24, 2014, the first batch of six Stirling engines—out of a total of 180 25-kW solar‑Stirling power generation units supplied to Europe by Dalian Honghai New Energy Development Co., Ltd., the predecessor of Oriental Honghai New Energy Development Co., Ltd.—rolled off the production line successfully. Prior to this, Dalian Honghai had collaborated with Sweden’s Cleanergy to develop a 10-kW dish‑type concentrated solar power project in Seville, Spain. In 2015, the company secured another order for a dish‑Stirling CSP project in Thailand, with a total capacity of 10.5 MW and requiring the installation of 420 25-kW dish‑Stirling engines. This marked the first time a Chinese manufacturer of dish‑Stirling systems had won an overseas commercial CSP project contract.

8. Dongfang Electric Corporation Dongfang Boiler Co., Ltd. (Key Equipment Supplier)

　　On July 21, 2016, Dongfang Boiler Co., Ltd. signed a supply contract with Spain’s TSK for overflow tanks and expansion tanks for the SHAGAYA 50 MW solar project in Kuwait. This marks the company’s first self‑operated export of solar‑thermal vessel equipment, which was independently designed in accordance with ASME standards.

9. Shandong Jirong Thermal Engineering Technology Co., Ltd. (Key Equipment Supplier)

　　Shandong Jirong Thermal Engineering Technology Co., Ltd. won the bid for the supply contract of deaerators, high-pressure heaters, low-pressure heaters, and pressure vessels for Morocco’s NOOR 2 & 3 project, and all equipment was successfully inspected, accepted, and delivered in 2016.

10. Shandong Aomei Environmental Co., Ltd. (Desalination Water System)

　　In 2016, Shandong Aomei Environmental Co., Ltd. successfully passed the supervision and acceptance inspection of the desalinated water system for Morocco’s Noor Project.

11. Delta Group (Sun-Tracking Solution)

　　On February 25, 2016, Delta Group from Taiwan, China, announced that it had successfully provided a solar-tracking solution for SolarReserve, a major solar developer, for the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project—the world’s largest molten-salt‑based concentrated solar power plant—located in Nevada, USA.

　　At present, domestic manufacturers still face performance challenges in overseas markets. However, the rapid expansion of China’s concentrated solar power (CSP) demonstration projects has created an initial wave of market opportunities for companies along the industry chain. As the market continues to mature, these firms are poised to grow and consolidate, laying a solid foundation for a large-scale push into international CSP markets in the future. It is expected that, starting after 2018, Chinese companies will secure an increasing share of the global CSP market and emerge as key players on the international stage! http://www.jirong-thermal.com/