The Talatan PV Power Station is a large cluster of solar power stations in the Gonghe County China. The development began in 2011 on the Tibetan Plateau and expanded into one of the largest solar farms in the world.
Talatan is not a single plant but a cluster of many projects. The total installed solar power in the Talatan park area had reached approximately 16 GW, with average annual electricity generation of about 18,000 GWh.
Location
Talatan lies in Gonghe County in Qinghai Province, in a high-altitude semi-arid environment characterized by strong solar irradiation, low population density, and extensive areas of desertified land.
The average altitude here is about 3000m.
The area forms part of the broader solar development zone in the Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, which also includes projects near Longyangxia and other sites along the upper Yellow River basin.
History
A coordinated effort to develop large-scale photovoltaic generation in Talatan began around 2011. One of the principal early developers was Huanghe Hydropower Development Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the State Power Investment Corporation. The project was framed as both an energy and ecological initiative, aimed at utilizing marginal land while reducing wind erosion and improving ground cover.
Over the following decade, additional state-owned and private enterprises constructed multiple utility-scale PV plants within the designated park. By the early 2020s, Talatan had become a flagship location for China’s high-altitude solar development strategy.
In 2021, a single 2.2GW photovoltaic plant in Gonghe County developed by Huanghe Hydropower was identified by industry analysts as one of the largest individual PV power stations in the world at the time.
Capacity and generation
A 2022 report on the Hainan Ecological Photovoltaic Park stated that 46 companies were operating within the Talatan park area and that total installed photovoltaic capacity had reached approximately 16 GW, with average annual generation of around 18,000 GWh.
Environmental and social aspects
Project documentation and government reporting emphasize the integration of solar infrastructure with ecological management. One widely publicized practice is the use of controlled grazing beneath PV arrays—often referred to in Chinese media as “photovoltaic sheep”—to manage vegetation, reduce fire risk, and prevent shading of modules while providing additional income streams for local herders.
Other measures highlighted in public material include windbreaks, ground-cover planting, and surface stabilization intended to reduce dust accumulation on panels and mitigate wind erosion. These approaches are presented as part of a broader effort to combine renewable energy deployment with land rehabilitation in arid regions.
Media
Satellite image of the Longyangxia Dam Solar Park area in Qinghai, near the broader Gonghe–Talatan solar development zone.Time-lapse video showing large-scale solar development in Qinghai (Google Earth Timelapse).
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