The China Three Gorges Corporation has invested one billion yuan ($151 million) to build the world's biggest floating photovoltaic power plant in East China's Anhui Province.
The company said on its website that part of the plant, a 150-megawatt project, was connected to the grid on Monday. The project features panels fixed to floats on the surface of a lake that formed after a coal mine collapsed, according to the unit. The entire facility is expected to come online by May 2018.
When completed, the plant will generate 150 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, which will help save 53,000 tons of coal and curb 199,500 carbon dioxide emissions every year, the company said.
It added that compared with traditional photovoltaic power stations, the floating station does not occupy land, and it can prevent water evaporation and improve the generator's work efficiency.
China has been encouraging the development of clean energy sources to reduce the country's heavy reliance on coal, which accounts for about 72 percent of the energy consumption mix, said the Xinhua News Agency.
