Researchers at China's Guangdong Power Grid have proposed integrating solar power with a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) to enhance microgrids' short-term dispatch capability while improving their long-term economic viability.
China's solar power generation overtook wind for the first time last year as a boom in cheap panels continues to reshape the country's grid and climate trajectory.
By June 2025, China's PV capacity surpassed 1,100 gigawatt. In 2024, China added 277 gigawatts (GW) of solar power, which was equivalent to 15% of the world's total cumulative installed solar capacity.
The major photovoltaic project was launched in April 2019, when the Grimaldi Forum signed a 'SunE' contract with SMEG pledging to finance and build the urban solar power station on top of the Principality's congress and culture centre, and to operate it for at least 15 years.
The project consists of a 1,150 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) facility, an up to 4,600 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system (BESS), a 34. 5-500 kilovolt (kV) grid step-up substation, a 15-mile 500 kV generation intertie (gen-tie) line, and a 500 kV utility.