SolarReserve, LLC, a global developer of utility-scale solar power projects with solar thermal energy storage technology, and Shenhua Group Corporation, China’s state-owned enterprise, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for building 1GW of solar thermal projects in China.

China aims to install 100GW of solar PV capacity and 10GW of solar thermal projects during its “Thirteenth Five-year Plan” timeframe (2016~2020). With the MOU signed between SolarReserve and Shenhua Group, solar thermal power generating technology will be improved in China.

“As part of Shenhua’s strategic objective to become a world-class clean energy provider, we are very interested in developing utility-scale concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, and we look forward to working with SolarReserve in bringing its world-class proprietary technology to China,” said Dr. Ling Wen, CEO of Shenhua Group.

SolarReserve’s solar storage technology solves the intermittency issues experienced with other renewable energy sources, enabling the delivery of 100% renewable baseload and dispatchable power with operational capabilities comparable to traditional fossil-fired and nuclear electricity generation methods.

“This deal will support American exports and American jobs while simultaneously helping China meet the emission reduction goals it set under the Paris Climate Agreement,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker who attended in the signing ceremony in Washington D.C.

Under terms of the MOU, SolarReserve will supply critical technology, along with technical support services to construct the most advanced solar thermal projects ever built in China. Its technology will also facilitate the deployment of additional wind and PV generation and ensure the reliability and security of the new ultra-high voltage transmission lines that are under constructed to deliver renewable electricity from the north and west regions of China to load centers in the east.