The largest solar power plant in the world 2026: ranking of the biggest solar parks

Updated on 20 October 2026. The largest solar park in the world is Talatan, in China's Qinghai province, with about 21,000 MW (21 GW) of installed capacity built in phases since 2011, according to Wikipedia's list of photovoltaic power stations, which compiles operator and trade press data. The largest single solar plant is Midong, in Xinjiang, at 3,500 MW (3.5 GW), connected in June 2024, according to pv magazine. Chile's largest plant, CEME1, has 480 MW.

This ranking distinguishes between solar parks, which group many plants from different owners in one area, and single plants built as one project. The top ten parks in the world are in China, India and the United Arab Emirates.

The table ranks solar parks by installed direct-current capacity (MWp, the rated power of the panels). The main source is Wikipedia's list of photovoltaic stations; for Khavda we use the April 2026 figure from Yale Environment 360.

Beyond the top ten come other Chinese parks of 2,000 to 3,500 MW, and India's Bhadla (2,245 MW, Rajasthan) and Pavagada (2,050 MW, Karnataka). The Dubai figure is the capacity planned for 2026 by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and Masdar; the latest confirmed operating figure we found is from 2025, with the sixth phase under construction.

Solar park or solar plant: why the ranking changes

Talatan, Ningdong or Khavda are not single power stations: they are zones where the state reserves land and grid connection, and dozens of companies build their own plants. So when an operator announces “the largest solar plant in the world”, it usually means a single project such as Midong, not an entire park.

MWp or MW: two ways to measure a solar plant

Solar plants are reported in two ways. MWp (megawatts peak, direct current) is the sum of all panel ratings; MW alternating current is what the plant can inject into the grid, limited by its inverters. The second figure is usually lower. In Chile, for example, the Monterrico Solar project in Ñuble declares 248.73 MWp and 200 MW nominal, 20% less. When comparing plants, check which unit each figure uses.

Midong cost about CNY 15.45 billion (around US$2.13 billion) and connects to the grid through more than 208 kilometres of lines to a 750 kV substation, according to pv magazine. It was built in stages by China Construction Eighth Engineering Division and PowerChina. It beat the record of a 2.2 GW Huanghe Hydropower plant operating since October 2020.

Khavda, in the Kutch desert in India's Gujarat state, was planned as a 30 GW solar and wind park by 2029. In April 2026 it had about 9.4 GW installed, according to Yale Environment 360, making it the largest renewable park outside China. Its main developer is Adani Green Energy, which in September 2026 reported 20,280 MW of operating renewable capacity across India.

Khavda is also home to one of the world's largest batteries: Adani reported in October 2026 that its storage system reached 6.63 GWh. The full list is in our ranking of the largest battery in the world.

China dominates the ranking for three reasons: deserts with high radiation and cheap land in Qinghai, Xinjiang, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia; a state policy of renewable energy “bases” that sets aside whole zones for large projects; and ultra-high-voltage lines that carry the power to coastal cities thousands of kilometres away. It also makes most of the world's panels.

The size of its parks mirrors the size of its market: China is by far the country with the most installed solar capacity, as shown in the world ranking of countries by solar power.

Chile has no parks the size of China's, but it does have one of the world's best solar resources in the Atacama desert. Its largest plant is CEME1, owned by Generadora Metropolitana (EDF and AME), in María Elena, with 480 MW, inaugurated on 8 July 2024.

The scale of China's parks is clearer with a comparison: Talatan, at about 21 GW, has more solar capacity than all of Chile, which had 13,556 MW of solar at the end of June 2026, according to the National Electricity Coordinator. Ningdong, second in the ranking, also exceeds Chile's entire solar fleet.

Midong, the world's largest single plant, is about seven times the size of CEME1. Chile's trend is not to build mega-plants but mid-sized plants with batteries to sell power at night. Details are in solar energy in Chile in numbers.

The Masdar and EWEC project in Abu Dhabi, announced in October 2025 with investment of more than US$6 billion, aims to deliver 1 GW of renewable power around the clock by combining panels and batteries, according to Enerdata. If it meets its deadline, it would be the world's largest solar plant with storage.

Park capacity is given in MWp of direct current, as in Wikipedia's list, which draws on operator, government and trade press data. Some Chinese park figures are estimates from that list and may differ from other sources. The Khavda figure is from April 2026 (Yale E360). Chilean plants come from their operators. We will update this ranking on this same page when the record changes.

What is the largest solar plant in the world?

The largest park is Talatan, in China, with about 21 GW. The largest single plant is Midong, also in China, at 3.5 GW.

What is the largest solar park outside China?

Khavda, in India, with about 9.4 GW installed in April 2026 and a 30 GW target.

What is the largest solar plant in Chile?

CEME1, in María Elena, Antofagasta, with 480 MW.

What is the largest solar plant in Latin America?

We found no up-to-date official record for the whole region. The large plants in Brazil, Mexico and Chile are in the 400 to 1,000 MW range, far from China's parks.

Energía Futura (2026). The largest solar power plant in the world 2026: ranking of the biggest solar parks. Based on Wikipedia's list of photovoltaic power stations, pv magazine, Yale Environment 360 and the operators. Available at https://energiafutura.cl/en/news/largest-solar-power-plant-in-the-world-2026-ranking-of-the-biggest-solar-parks. The cover chart may be reproduced crediting Energía Futura and linking to this page.