In this article we will see a list of top 10 largest solar power plant in the World.

The following table summarizes top 10 largest solar power plant in the world, you will find more details about individual power plant after the table.

Sr.No	Solar Park Name	Country	DC Capacity (MW)
1	Bhadla Solar Park	India	2,245
2	Pavagada Solar Park	India	2,050
3	Benban Solar Park	Egypt	1,650
4	Tengger Desert Solar Park	China	1,500
5	Noor Abu Dhabi Solar Power Project	UAE	1,177
6	Datong Solar Power Plant	China	1,070
7	Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park	India	1,000
8	Longyangxia Solar Park	China	850
9	Enel Villanueva PV Plant	Mexico	828
10	Rewa Solar Park	India	750

Below this you will find details about all the above mentioned solar power plant.

Top 10 Largest Solar Plant in the World:

1. Bhadla Solar Park:

Bhadla Solar Park is the world largest solar park with total capacity of 2,245 Megawatt (MW). It is spread over a total area of 10,000 acres (40 km²) in Bhadla, Jodhpur district, Rajasthan.

The solar park has been developed by multiple entities in 4 phases. Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited (RRECL), through its subsidiary, Rajasthan Solar Park Development Company Limited (RSPDCL), has constructed 745 MW of projects. Saurya Urja Company of Rajasthan, a joint venture company of the government of Rajasthan and IL&FS Energy Development Company, has developed infrastructure for 1,000 MW of solar projects. Adani Renewable Energy Park Rajasthan, a joint venture between the government of Rajasthan and Adani Renewable Energy Park, has developed 500 MW of solar projects.

Fun facts:

1. Total DC capacity – 2,245 MW.
2. Total Project Cost – ₹10,000 crore (US$1.3 billion).
3. Total Area Covered – 40 square kilometres (10,000 acres).

2. Pavagada Solar Park:

Pavagada Solar Park is 2,050 MW solar park covering an area of 53 square kilometres (13,000 acres) in Pavagada taluk, Tumkur district, Karnataka. It is the World’s second largest photovoltaic power station after 2245 MW Bhadla Solar Park . The project cost ₹14,800 crore (US$2.1 billion).

Karnataka Solar Power Development Corporation Ltd (KSPDCL)  which is a joint venture between Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd (KREDL) and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) owns the project.

Fun facts:

1. Official Name – Shakti Sthala
2. Total DC capacity – 2,050 MW
3. Total Project Cost – ₹14,800 crore (US$2.1 billion)

3. Benban Solar Park:

Benban Solar Park is a photovoltaic power station with a total capacity of 1650 MWp which corresponds to an annual production of approximately 3.8 TWh. It is located in Benban in the western desert, approximately 650 km south of Cairo and 40 km northwest of Aswan, Egypt.

Benban is currently the 3rd largest solar power plant in the world. The solar park is so large that it is visible from space.

4. Tengger Desert Solar Park:

Tengger Desert Solar Park is the China’s largest photovoltaic plant. It is located in Zhongwei, Ningxia, China. It currently covers an area of 43 km2 and has a peak power output of 1,547 MW.

The Tengger solar park dubbed as the ‘Great Wall of Solar’, covers 1,200 km of the 36,700 km Tengger desert, occupying 3.2% of the arid region.

The 1,547MW plant is owned by China National Grid and Zhongwei Power Supply Company. The project developers included Tianyun New Energy Technology, Beijing Jingyuntong Technology, Ningxia Qingyang New Energy, Qinghai New Energy, and Zhongwei Yinyang New Energy.

5. Noor Abu Dhabi Solar Power Project:

Noor Abu Dhabi Solar Power Project, previously known as Sweihan photovoltaic independent power project (IPP), is a 1,177MW solar power plant located in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It is developed at a cost of AED 3.2bn (£695million).

Sweihan PV Power Company, a special purpose company, developed the project on a build-own-and-operate (BOO) basis. Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (AD Power) holds 60% stake in Sweihan PV Power, while Marubeni and JinkoSolar hold 20% each.

6. Datong Solar Power Plant:

The Datong solar project is a 1,070MW power plant being developed in Datong City, Shanxi province, China. The project is part of China’s National Energy Administration’s plans to develop solar projects in the region. It includes the development of seven 100MW projects, five 50MW projects, and a number of smaller capacity projects.

Several companies including Datong United Photovoltaics New Energy, Datong Coal Mine Group, Huadian Shanxi Energy, JinkoSolar Holding, Yingli Green Energy, China Guangdong Nuclear Solar Energy, China Three Gorges New Energy, and State Power Investment are involved in the development of the solar power plants under the project.

The solar panels in the plant are arranged to forms a black panda when seen from top, hence it is popularly known as panda solar park.

A total of 1,070MW capacity was operational by 2016, while the development of additional 600MW was announced.

7. Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park:

Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park is a 1000 MW solar park spread over a total area of 5,932.32 acres (24.0072 sq.km) in Panyam mandal of Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh. The park utilizes over 4 million solar panels with capacities of 315 and 320 Watts. The park was built at an investment of around ₹7,000 crore (US$980 million) by solar power developers and the Central and State governments.

Fun facts:

1. Total DC capacity – 1,000 MW.
2. Total Project Cost – ₹7,000 crore (US$980 million).
3. Total Area Covered – 24 square kilometres (5,932 acres).

8. Longyangxia Solar Park:

The Longyangxia solar park has a capacity of 850MW, sufficient to power 200,000 households. The site sits on the Tibetan Plateau in northwestern China’s Qinghai province and spans 27km². The plant is installed with approximately four million solar panels and is operated by State Power Investment Corporation, one of China’s top five power generators.

Phase one of the power plant was completed in 2013, while phase two was completed in 2015, with a total construction cost of approximately six billion yuan ($920.84m).

The project was developed by Huanghe Hydropower Development and is integrated with the 1,280MW Longyangxia hydroelectric power station.

9. Enel Villanueva PV Plant:

Located in the Mexican state of Coahuila, the photovoltaic (PV) facility comprises more than 2.5 million solar panels installed across 2,400ha in the Mexican semi-arid region. The 828MW power plant became fully-operational in September 2018 and has the capacity to produce more than 2,000GWh a year.

The Enel Group invested approximately $710m in the construction of Villanueva. The plant’s initial capacity was 754MW, which was increased to 828MW following a 10% capacity extension option added to the energy sales contracts.

Enel deployed a unique pilot programme using digital technologies and automation for the plant’s construction. The programme included the use of GPS-controlled machines for moving the earth, drones for conducting 3D topography, and robots for automatic installation of panel.

10. Rewa Ultra Mega Solar:

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar is a 750 MW solar park spread over an area of 1,590 acres (6.4 sq.km) in the Gurh tehsil of Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh. The project was commissioned in December 2019.

The project was implemented by Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL), a joint venture between the Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikash Nigam Limited (MPUVNL) and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

Fun facts:

1. Total DC capacity – 750 MW.
2. Total Area Covered – 6.5 square kilometres (1,590 acres)

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References:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_photovoltaic_power_stations
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_India
• https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/04/19/india-renew-power-switches-on-143-mw-solar-farm-in-telegana/
• https://mercomindia.com/world-largest-solar-park-bhadla/