A wind power project in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, which boasts the largest single-capacity turbines in the region, was connected to the grid on Monday, marking a breakthrough in the region's new energy development.
Single-capacity turbines are powerful, high-output wind turbines that can operate alone or in groups with other single-capacity turbines.
Built by the Xizang branch of Huadian New Energy Group, the project is situated at a maximum altitude of 5,370 meters in Qonggyai County, which is administered by Shannan City. It has 12 single-capacity turbines with a total output of 60 megawatts, supported by a grid-forming energy-storage system.
"Once fully operational, the wind farm is expected to generate 160 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, which can power approximately 120,000 households. A 12-megawatt to 48-megawatt-hour grid-type energy storage system has also been built to ensure clean energy power supply for the Xizang Autonomous Region this winter and next spring,” said Wang Shikui, a project manager at Huadian New Energy Group.
The project also involved the restoration of 360,000 square meters of local vegetation, ensuring infrastructure development progressed in step with ecological protection, according to its developers.
Xizang has established a comprehensive energy system with hydropower as its main power source, complemented by geothermal, wind and solar energy, among others. From 2015 to 2024, Xizang transmitted 15.8 billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy beyond the region.
Xizang wind farm with largest single-capacity turbines connected to grid
China's 42nd Antarctic Expedition team has started unloading supplies for scientific exploration after arriving at waters near the Zhongshan Station, a Chinese research base in Antarctica.
The ongoing seven-month scientific exploration mission is supported by Chinese icebreakers the Xuelong and the Xuelong 2, which set sail from Shanghai on Nov 1.
The two icebreakers will deliver about 2,000 tons of supplies to the Zhongshan Station for scientific exploration.
The Xuelong 2 arrived first at a designated unloading spot about 12 kilometers from the Zhongshan Station. Later, the ship's Ka-32 helicopter transported in batches more than 300 tons of polar fuel to the research base when weather conditions were favorable.
"Nearly 90 members of the expedition team carried by the two ship are already at the Zhongshan Station, preparing for receiving supplies and assignments for scientific exploration," said Wang Tao, person in charge of unloading operations at the Zhongshan Station.
Thanks to more than 30 hours of efforts by the Xuelong 2 to widen the channel and lead the way, the Xuelong, which was carrying about 1,500 tons of supplies, has also arrived at the unloading spot.
The unloading operations, involving a combination of sea-ice transport and helicopter lifts, are expected to be finished within two weeks.
And then, the Xuelong and the Xuelong 2 will proceed to China's Qingling Station and Changcheng Station in Antarctica, respectively.
The expedition team includes more than 500 members from over 80 institutions on the Chinese mainland, along with researchers from more than 10 other countries and regions, such as Thailand, Chile and Portugal, as well as China's Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions, in support of broader international scientific collaboration.
They will conduct multi-disciplinary scientific surveys, advance several major national research projects, and test domestically developed equipment under polar conditions.
Particularly, scientific drilling experiments in lakes deep in the Antarctic inland ice sheet will be carried out for the first time.
China's 42nd Antarctic Expedition team unloads supplies at Zhongshan Station
