China’s Biggest Subsidy-Free Solar Farm Powers Up in Liaoning

(Bloomberg) -- A unit of China’s State Power Investment Corp. has brought online a 500-megawatt solar farm in the northeastern province of Liaoning, the nation’s biggest subsidy-free solar project.

The plant in Chaoyang city began construction in June and was connected to the grid on Dec. 24, according to a statement on SPIC’s website Tuesday. It’s built and operated by China Power International Development Ltd.

The development belongs to the first batch of clean energy projects to be operated without subsidies in China, which includes 14.8 gigawatts of solar capacity. These projects will compete on their own against traditional coal- and natural gas-fired plants.

The Liaoning project has a total investment of about 2.9 billion yuan ($415 million). There are another two 500-megawatt solar farms being developed in the provinces of Heilongjiang and Jiangsu that will not receive financial support from the government, according to a list published by the National Development & Reform Commission and National Energy Administration.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Feifei Shen in Beijing at fshen11@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ramsey Al-Rikabi at ralrikabi@bloomberg.net, Jasmine Ng

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With assistance from Bloomberg