China builds 4-million panel solar farm | Business Insider

[Martian]

What 4 million solar panels in China look like from space | Business Insider

"The world's largest solar farm covers 10 square miles and now has 4 million solar panels. It's the Longyangxia Dam Solar Park in China, which has the capacity to generate 850 megawatts of electricity — enough to power roughly 140,000 homes.

Here's what the complex, built in 2013, looked like then compared to how it looked in January 2017, in photos from the NASA Observatory.
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However, Longyangxia may not be the largest solar power plant for long. According to Bloomberg, there is a project planned for the Ningxia region of Northwest China which will have a capacity of 2000 megawatts when it's completed."

 

[Neo]

Excuse my ignorance but isn't the yield a bit low for such a mega project? I would expect 4 million panels to produce a lot more than 850MW.

 

[Martian]

Excuse my ignorance but isn't the yield a bit low for such a mega project? I would expect 4 million panels to produce a lot more than 850MW.

You are raising a point about the capacity-load. However, real world electricity generation is a fraction of the potential capacity-load.

The Sun only shines 12 hours per day.

Also, some days are cloudy (which will hinder efficiency).

Additionally, solar panels are only about 25% efficient in converting solar energy into electricity. Not every solar photon will dislodge an electron in the solar panel.

The Chinese solar panels are producing 210 watts per panel. Math: 850MW / 4 million panels = 210 watts per panel. This performance is in line with the average.

"All solar panels are rated by the DC power produced in standard test conditions. A typical solar panel produces about 200 watts of electricity based on the efficiency and size of what's installed. For example, if you have 25 panels installed, you may have an output of about 5 kilowatts (kW)."
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"SunTech solar panel maker from China."
(Picture copyright: SunTech)