(Yicai Global) Dec. 11 -- China started producing power at the world's largest floating photovoltaic plant, located in eastern Anhui province, yesterday.

China Three Gorges Corp., the country's biggest hydropower firm, invested CNY1 billion (USD151 million) in the solar farm in Huainan city.

The array with an installed capacity of 150 megawatts represents the first time that the company has developed such a project. The power producer will fully connect the facility to the grid by next year, CTG said. Once complete, the project will be capable of meeting electricity demands of some 94,000 urban and rural households.

CTG will pay more than CNY2 million in annual rent for using the bodies of water that house the array, and will generate some CNY25 million in taxes annually.

Many countries have started to study and develop floating solar farms. Their offshore location means they take up little space, and the seawater acts as a natural coolant to improve the efficiency of power generation.

The new energy sector has become CTG's second-biggest business, Bi Yaxiong, the group's deputy general manager, said in October, adding that the company's installed new energy capacity reached nearly 8 gigawatts in China as of September.

Huainan in Anhui province is a traditional coal industry heartland with an annual output of over 100 million tons.