A U.S.-based solar power company has entered into a large-scale agreement with a Chinese power equipment manufacturer that will lead to the creation of solar thermal power plants across China that will generate at least 2 gigawatts of power.

The deal, which was signed last week in the Chinese State Council building, will partner U.S. solar power plant builder eSolar with Penglai Electric to make official what will become China's largest concentrating solar power project.

The first part of the project, which will create a solar power plant that will be operated by China Shaanxi Yulin Huayang New Energy Company and be capable of generating 92 megawatts of power, will break ground sometime this year.

"Using the power of the sun, eSolar's technology minimizes the environmental impact on manufacturing and deployment while maximizing land and cost efficiency," said Liu Guangyu, chairman and CEO of Penglai Electric. "We are extremely grateful to the Chinese government for playing a major role in promoting zero-carbon renewable energy."

The solar power plants, which are currently scheduled to be completed by 2021, will utilize eSolar's solar thermal technologies. In total, the 2 gigawatts of solar power generated by the plants will eliminate 15 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.