The photo above shows the world's largest floating solar farm in Huainan, China. The $45 million dollar plant has a 40 megawatt capacity and can help power 15,000 homes for an entire year.

(Sungrow Power Supply Co. )

At a Glance

The world's largest floating solar farm has officially begun generating power in China. The plant has a capacity to power 15,000 homes for an entire year.It floats on top of a flooded former coal mine.

China has begun generating power from the world’s largest floating solar farm, which sits atop a flooded former coal mine.

and was connected to the grid in Huainan, China, last month, according to a release from Sungrow Power Supply Co., the company running the project. It was finished in May and began generating power this week.

Inundated by rainy water, the former coal mine is now a lake containing water that ranges from depths of 13 to 32 feet. The water, which has become seriously mineralized due to the coal, can’t be consumed or used for bathing or farming, but the farm brings it new purpose.

"The plant not only makes full use of this area, reducing the demand for lands, but also improves generation due to the cooling effects of the surface," a local government representative explained in the release.

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Huainan holds nearly , according to a 2008 estimate. The installation of the floating plant is symbolic of the country’s push to a greener future.

and spans across an area the size of more than 160 football fields, reports Quartz. It could help power 15,000 homes for an entire year.

"On the surface, the floats just stay on the water, and the truth is that more than 1,000 , keeping the floats in order," the plant’s deputy general manager Xiao Fuqin told China Daily.

Beforethis plant’s completion, the largest solar farm was in the UK and it only had a capacity of 6.3 megawatts, according to Quartz.

A floating solar farm is more expensive to build than one on land, as they have to withstand heat from the sun and salt and humidity from the water, ChinaDaily reports.

The cost of this farm alone was $45 million, according to Quartz. Despite the higher price tag, floating solar panels can be placed on a surface that’s otherwise unusable and they work more efficiently. The water helps to cool the panels while they work to generate electricity.

Additionally, the panels help shield the water from evaporating in the sun, which helps the lake to stay full longer.

The farm has a lifespan of 25 years and is patrolled by drones that supervise and take photos, according to Xiao.

China has also announced it will be stoppingmore than 100 coal-fired power plants and suspending plans to build new ones in an effort to clean up the smog that chokes its cities.