The 1000-megawatt (MW) Kela solar power plant, located in China and the world’s largest hydro-solar power plant, began generating power on June 25, the solar company Astronergy said in a June 26 news release.

The plant installed 523.1 MW of Astronergy’s ASTRO series PV modules. The high-efficiency modules can withstand extreme weather conditions and were chosen for the project due to the plant’s location at the West Sichuan Plateau. Its altitude of 4,600 m means the modules must withstand weather conditions such as strong winds and blizzards.

The first phase of the plant’s annual generating capacity has reached 2 billion kilowatt-hours (BkWh), equivalent to the annual consumption of more than 700,000 homes. With the installation of a large proportion of modules, the plant could reduce coal usage by 600,000 tons annually, and CO2 emissions by more than 1.6 million tons. Its hydro-solar capabilities will regulate instability in solar power supply.

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