Molten-salt energy storage is not a new technology in itself, but this project captures the real strength of China’s renewable-energy system. China is connecting low-cost manufacturing, vast desert renewable-energy bases, long-duration storage, ultra-high-voltage transmission, and nationwide grid dispatch into a single integrated system. “Flattening the duck curve” is ultimately a systems-engineering challenge—and China’s distinctive advantage lies precisely in its ability to organize and build systems at this extraordinary scale.
South Africa has a molten salt power generation plant near Postmasburg in the Northern Cape, built by a Chinese company, and which came into production in 2025.
In molten salt plants, the Salt is the battery, which stores the solar energy.
With thanks. Australia is ideally suited to this. The deserts are conveniently located in the middle of the country but politcians here are fixated on fossil fuels because of the vast kickbacks and jobs for the boys after they leave politics. It is normal for them to get seats on fossil fuel boards. The technology is readily available, all that is lacking is political integrity.
This tech has been around for a long time, along with other approaches to storage and balancing generation over time like pumped hydro, wind or tidal plus solar, and batteries. Even pressurized air bladders. Why do folks keep talking about adding small nuclear to the mix, with it's obvious downsides.
Mexico, whose president earned a PhD in energy engineering, will install 2 plants of this type, albeit on a smaller scale, within the decade in the southern part of Baja California, home to some of the sunniest territory in the western hemisphere. This system is expected to benefit between 100,000 and 200,000 homes in Baja California Sur, a state with a population of about 800,000.
Molten-salt energy storage is not a new technology in itself, but this project captures the real strength of China’s renewable-energy system. China is connecting low-cost manufacturing, vast desert renewable-energy bases, long-duration storage, ultra-high-voltage transmission, and nationwide grid dispatch into a single integrated system. “Flattening the duck curve” is ultimately a systems-engineering challenge—and China’s distinctive advantage lies precisely in its ability to organize and build systems at this extraordinary scale.
South Africa has a molten salt power generation plant near Postmasburg in the Northern Cape, built by a Chinese company, and which came into production in 2025.
In molten salt plants, the Salt is the battery, which stores the solar energy.
With thanks. Australia is ideally suited to this. The deserts are conveniently located in the middle of the country but politcians here are fixated on fossil fuels because of the vast kickbacks and jobs for the boys after they leave politics. It is normal for them to get seats on fossil fuel boards. The technology is readily available, all that is lacking is political integrity.
😀Thanks Big😃
This tech has been around for a long time, along with other approaches to storage and balancing generation over time like pumped hydro, wind or tidal plus solar, and batteries. Even pressurized air bladders. Why do folks keep talking about adding small nuclear to the mix, with it's obvious downsides.
Mexico, whose president earned a PhD in energy engineering, will install 2 plants of this type, albeit on a smaller scale, within the decade in the southern part of Baja California, home to some of the sunniest territory in the western hemisphere. This system is expected to benefit between 100,000 and 200,000 homes in Baja California Sur, a state with a population of about 800,000.
https://mexicobusiness.news/energy/news/cfe-build-two-thermosolar-plants-baja-california-sur
This tech was invented in America decades ago
Simply amazing engineering in solving problems unlike anything seen here in the West.
culturally I think people in the West have been brought up to think they have the knowledge know how to judge a project but really don”t.
Often you hear Why not Desalination ? Oh the waste is impossible to deal with.
Garbage is simply landfilled or recycled at enormous expense without any cost accounting done.
It’s a futile feeling here in the West so your program is well appreciated for life’s unseen possibilities.
I think China is using LLMs to their full power and have gone exponential in tech but I barely pay attention
Many thanks 👍👍 China is so far ahead in joined-up thinking.