10 Largest Solar Farms in the World

Environmental issues such as toxic emissions and climate change have taken center stage in recent years, so it’s no surprise that people all around the globe are making an effort to go green! One of the leading catalysts of climate change is the use of fossil fuels, which has led many companies to push forward in the development of cleaner power.

One of the best sources of renewable energy is solar power, and power plants worldwide have made impressive strides in clean power production. Today, let’s take a look at 10 of the largest solar farms in the world, and learn a little bit about each one.

10. Setouchi Kirei Mega Solar Power Plant

Source: wikimedia.org

Located in the Okayama Prefecture in Japan, the city of Setouchi is home to one of the largest solar farms in the world. Setouchi Kirei Mega Solar Power Plant is the largest solar plant in Japan, and features around 900,000 solar panels. This solar farm utilizes PV panels composed of photovoltaic cells to convert and boost the solar power into usable electricity with state-of-the-art technology.

Did You Know?

The Setouchi Kirei Mega Solar Power Plant is actually built upon a large coastal site in Kinkai Bay that was reclaimed after years of being used for salt production. The Kinkai Salt Field used to be the largest in East Asia.

9. Agua Caliente Solar Project

Source: power-technology.com

Covering 2,400 acres of land, this massive solar power farm is owned by NRG Energy and BHE Renewables, and was developed by First Solar. The Agua Caliente project uses solar power to prevent the emission of around 324,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere.

Did You Know?

Tom Doyle, the president of NRG Solar, regards Agua Caliente highly, saying: “Large-scale utility accomplishments, like our Agua Caliente project, raise the bar in terms of our clean-energy technology and production.”

8. Ivanpah Solar Power Facility

Source: wikimedia.org

While certainly prestigious, the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility has raised a lot of questions concerning its seemingly counterintuitive use of fossil fuels and the efficiency of its 174,000 heliostats. This massive solar plant takes up 3,500 acres of the Mojave Desert, and generates enough power for 140,000 homes.

Did You Know?

In 2010, the current plans for the Ivanpah Facility were scaled back and altered in order to avoid disturbing the valuable habitat of the native Desert Tortoise.

7. Solar Star Projects

Source: wikimedia.org

Maintained and operated by SunPower Services, Solar Star sprawls over 3,200 acres of land and was the largest operation solar project in the world when it was first completed. In a mere 3 years of construction, the Solar Star project generated 650 construction jobs, in addition to 40 operations and maintenance jobs. This plant utilizes 1.7 million solar panels and puts out enough electricity to power 255,000 homes.

Did You Know?

Utility company Southern California Edison purchases the power generated by Solar Star under a long-term power purchase agreement.

6. Ouarzazate Solar Power Station (Noor Complex Solar Power Plant)

Source: wikimedia.org

Also known as the Noor Power Station, this solar farm boasts an area of 6,178 acres and is estimated to cost around $9 billion in its entirety. The first phase of this project, Noor I CSP, paved the way for sustainable power when it was connected to the Moroccan power grid in 2016. Phase II was completed in 2018, and two more phases are planned for the future.

Did You Know?

The Ouarzazate Solar Power Station is anticipated to provide power for over a million people and supply most of Morocco’s energy supply by the year 2030.

5. Kamuthi Solar Power Project

Source: qz.com

As the largest single-location solar plant in the world at the time of its completion, the Kamuthi Solar Power Project utilizes 2.5 million solar modules and 380,000 foundations. It makes up a significant part of India’s recent, noble efforts to become more sustainable. Providing enough clean power for 150,000 homes, the Kamuthi Project hopes to help make up for the fact that India hit an all-time pollution production high during recent years.

Did You Know?

The Kamuthi Solar Power Project originally set a more ambitious goal of 1,000 megawatts in output–however, there was no single portion of available land that was large enough.

4. Villanueva PV Plant

Source: mexico-now.com

The Villanueva PV Plant is the largest solar farm in Mexico, and the largest solar project that the Enel Green Power company is working on worldwide. Villanueva is already made up of a jaw-dropping 2.5 million solar panels, and later expansions increased the project’s output by 327 megawatts with the second phase of development: Villanueva 3.

Did You Know?

Enel Green Power invested over $65 million in order to build Villanueva and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 780,000 tons.

3. Longyangxia Dam Solar Park

Source: wikimedia.org

Resting atop the Tibetan Plateau in China, the Longyangxia Dam Solar Park is nearly as big as Macau in terms of land area! The solar park is integrated with the hydroelectric power station of the Longyangxia Dam, which utilizes the powerful waters at the head of China’s Yellow River.

Did You Know?

Xie Xiaoping, the chairman of Huanghe Hydropower Development, stated that he had grown very concerned about climate change and wanted to take an active role in working towards a more sustainable future.

2. Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park

Source: apspcl.ap.gov.in

Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park takes up an astounding 5,932 acres of land area, and is powerful enough to meet almost the entirety of the Kurnool District’s electricity demands on a bright, sunny day. The Andhra Pradesh company doesn’t intend to stop at just one impressive solar park, however–they intend to add 2,750 more megawatts of clean energy to their state in the near future.

Did You Know?

The construction of Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park employed over 2,500 workers and was developed under the solar parks’ Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

1. Tengger Desert Solar Park

Source: wikimedia.org

The Tengger Desert Solar Park is the largest solar farm in the world by maximum power output. Located in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, this solar park is so large that it takes up an entire 3.2% of the Tengger Desert all on its own! In fact, the Tengger Desert Solar Park is such an impressive accomplishment and landmark that it has been dubbed “Great Wall of Solar”.

Did You Know?

While the Tengger Desert Solar Park is the largest in the world for now, the Indian Shakti Sthala Solar Park fully intends to outdo it by the year 2020 with an output of 2,000 megawatts.