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 will strive to further reduce the number of heavy pollution days and improve water quality in rural areas during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu said on Thursday.
While meeting the press following the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), Huang outlined the main tasks of pollution control during the 2026-2030 period.
Although the national average proportion of heavy pollution days has dropped to less than one percent last year, said Huang, during autumn and winter seasons, such weather events still occasionally occur in certain regions, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and surround areas, as well as urban clusters in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
Therefore, reducing the number of heavy pollution days will continue to be a major task for relevant authorities, he said.
"An important goal of pollution prevention and control during the 15th Five-Year Plan period is to continue reducing the number of heavy pollution days. We are quite confident in achieving this. We will adhere to the approaches of systematic and source-based management, addressing both symptoms and root causes, with a focus on the latter. In particular, we will seize the favorable opportunities brought by advancing the goal of peaking carbon emissions during the 15th Five-Year Plan period and the promulgation of the Ecological and Environmental Code today to promote green and low-carbon development of our industrial, energy, and transportation structures, as well as the development of new quality productive forces. Our fundamental solution is to reduce pollutant emissions at the source," he said.
Water quality improvement is another major task, according to Huang.
Over the years, China has seen significant progress in managing the water quality in major rivers and lakes, but in rural areas and urban-rural fringe areas, pollution problems, like black and odorous waters, remain quite prominent in small and micro water bodies, he said, adding that these pollution sources near people's homes may seem minor, they are actually directly related to the well-being of the people.
"This year, we will introduce relevant documents to deepen water pollution control, shifting our focus and efforts further towards rural areas, urban-rural fringe areas, and counties. At the same time, we'll set up over 200 national-level monitoring sites and a number of monitoring sites at the provincial level, in order to help local authorities to better manage small and micro water bodies," said Huang.
China will strive to further improve air, water quality in following five years: minister
