High-altitude breakthroughs: How Xizang is building a clean energy future on the roof of the world

High on the windswept plains of Amdo County, over 4,650 meters above sea level, all 15,927 heliostats have been delivered for the Tushuo 100-megawatt concentrated solar power (CSP) plant – the world's highest-altitude project of its kind. This marks a key step toward grid connection and a new energy paradigm on China's Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.

Nearby, construction is underway on a 50 MW trough-based CSP plant in Damxung County, designed to work alongside a 400 MW photovoltaic (PV) array. Meanwhile, ultra-high-voltage (UHV) transmission lines are rising to send this clean power thousands of kilometers south to densely populated regions.

Together, these projects show how Xizang is turning extreme altitude from a challenge into a laboratory for clean energy innovation.

From demonstration to scale: Engineering for high altitudes

The Amdo CSP plant, featuring an 8-hour molten salt storage system, can generate power after dark – solving solar power's intermittency issue. To withstand strong plateau winds, engineers developed lightweight, high-stiffness heliostat supports and a near-zero backlash tracking system. Special ultraviolet-resistant coatings protect against intense solar radiation. A fully automated, high-altitude production line – the first globally – produces 6,000 square meters of heliostats daily.

Once grid-connected in 2026, the Amdo plant is expected to generate 255 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually – enough for about 50,000 households, while saving 60,000 tonnes of coal and cutting CO₂ emissions by 165,000 tonnes.

In April 2026, construction of a 50 MW trough-based CSP plant began in Damxung County. With a six-hour thermal storage system, it will complement a 400 MW PV section under construction since September 2025. The hybrid project is scheduled for full commissioning in 2027, with an expected annual output of 719 million kWh.

Sending power south: UHV lines across three plateaus

In September 2025, construction began on a ±800 kilovolt direct-current (DC) line stretching 2,681 kilometers from Xizang to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area – the first UHV line to cross the Qinghai-Xizang, Yunnan-Guizhou and southern mountain plateaus. Scheduled for 2029, it will deliver over 43 billion kWh of clean electricity annually, cutting 12 million tonnes of coal and 33 million tonnes of CO₂.

Already online is the Karmai converter station in Mangkam County, at 3,720 meters. Operational since December 2025, it forms part of another ±800 kV DC line transmitting 40 billion kWh per year. To operate safely in extreme conditions, engineers increased tower and ground clearances and deployed automated inspections and robotic monitoring.

New geothermal clues beneath the plateau

In Nagqu City, one of China's coldest inhabited places, 12 geothermal wells now provide heating for about seven months each year, solving scaling and reinjection challenges.

Even more promising: In Dingri County, a pre-feasibility study has tapped three wells exceeding 180 degrees Celsius. This discovery, which earned a national geology award in 2025, breaks traditional assumptions about where high-temperature geothermal resources can be found. It offers a new theoretical model for future exploration.

An integrated energy system takes shape

These developments form a coordinated three-pronged strategy: generating solar power at scale with high-altitude engineering, transmitting it via record-breaking UHV lines and exploring new geothermal frontiers.

According to the government of Xizang Autonomous Region, clean energy now accounts for 96% of installed capacity and over 99% of electricity generation. For a region once dependent on diesel generators and seasonal hydropower, this marks a real transformation.

As mirrors rise at Amdo, troughs take shape at Damxung, electrons flow through Karmai and geologists drill deeper at Dingri, one thing is becoming clear: Xizang is turning its harsh environment into a working model for a sustainable energy future on the roof of the world.