The largest solar projects are being built in China and India

[Guillaume Albasini + 851]

The largest solar projects in the world are now being built by China and India. An analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis reports that China and India are the most ambitious players behind the massive expansion of solar power coming in the next few years.

Ranking	Project Name	Size MW	Country	Proponent
1	Tengger Desert Solar Park	1,547	China	China National Grid Zhongwei Power Supply Co
2	Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park	1,000	India	Andhra Pradesh Solar Power Corporation Pvt Ltd
3	Datong Solar Power Top Runner Base	1,000	China	Multiple
4	Yanchi Ningxia Solar Park	1,000	China	Huawei Technologies Co
5	Longyangxia Dam Solar Park	850	China	State Power Investment Corporation (China)
6	Adani Kamuthi Solar Plant	648	India	Adani Green
7	Solar Star	579	U.S.	BHE Renewables
8	Topaz Solar Farm	550	U.S.	First Solar
9	Desert Sunlight Solar Farm	550	U.S.	NextEra Energy, GE Energy Financial & Sumitomo
10	Nova Olinda Solar Farm	292	Brazil	Enel Green Power

Of the 98 gigawatts of solar power added last year, China was responsible for 53 of these according to the IEEFA.

Edited May 22, 2018 by Guillaume Albasini

[vickyg43 + 1]

What about Saudi  Arabia and their Soft bank Project ?  NEOM RISING PROJECT? The city of all cities they are working on? Aren't The Saudi's awaiting for their big IPO with Aramco, Desperately  trying to get Gas up to $100.00 a barrel, so they can become the leaders in the Solar Energy Market ?

[markslawson + 1,042]

GA - I see like your vision for the future of electric vehicles you live in a dream. That's good, but if you want to come  back to earth maybe you should ask yourself what the capacity factor on those project is (the effective capacity of PVs, for example, is typically less than 20 per cent of installed capacity), then work out just how much conventional capacity is being installed in those countries at the same time. China, for example, has been increasing its coal-powered capacity by vast amounts every year (more than the total capacity of Australia, every year). You often hear that 25 per cent of China's power is from renewables,  but the vast bulk of that is from hydro. A few per cent is from wind and solar. The listing you gives indicates that nothing much will change.    

[Guillaume Albasini + 851]

ML - You think I'm a dreamer ? It was a dream ten years ago but now it's a dream coming true. You think coal is rising faster than renewables in China ? Check the data and think again.

In 2017 the solar capacity growth in China was  52.83 GW. This brings China’s cumulative solar capacity up to 130.25 GW.

IN 2017 The wind power capacity growth was 16.8 GW. Total capacity up to 168.5 GW

In 2017 China eliminated or suspended 65 GW of coal-fired power capacity, exceeding the national target of 50 GW

The substitution of coal by renewables is a clear trend. Coal-fired power total capacity is still around 1100 GW but if they add 70 GW of renewables each year, coal could be phased out in 15 years (and even before if we take into account natural gas and hydro growth).

https://cleantechnica.com/2018/01/22/china-officially-installed-52-83-gw-worth-solar-2017-nea/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-coal/china-beats-2017-coal-fired-power-capacity-reduction-target-xinhua-idUSKCN1GD43K

The dominant share of coal in the chinese energy mix has something to do with the fact that coal is a local commodity helping to reduce the dependence on external energy suppliers. But this emphasis on coal has caused an unsustainable level of air pollution in the chinese cities driving the shift to gas and renewables.

The chinese dilemma between local but overpolluting coal and less polluting natural gas increasing the dependance on external providers could be overcome by renewables reducing the pollution level and locally produced. It's the reason why China is leading the shift to renewables.