First wind project in S Xinjiang connects to grid

The first wind power project in southern part of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was connected to the grid at full capacity on Saturday, marking a milestone achievement in harnessing wind energy in China's high altitude mountainous regions above 3,000 meters.

The project, located in Wuqia County of the Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, which is part of the Pamir Plateau, is also the country's westernmost wind farm. It features 38 turbines, each installed at altitudes between 2,800 and 3,300 meters, with a total capacity of 200,000 kilowatts.

"The project can produce about 540 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year – enough to power 300,000 households for a year. This output will save around 164,800 tons of coal and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 450,000 tons compared to traditional coal-fired power plants," said Zhang Shigang, chairman of the Xinjiang branch of Longyuan Power under CHN Energy, the project's operator.

"The biggest difference between working here and on flat land is that the cranes can't move here. After each installation, we have to take the crane apart and transport it to the next site using trucks," said Wang Tiande, the electrical manager of the project.

Additionally, three bulldozers are needed to pull a truck up the mountain, resulting in over thirty trips for crane relocation, which takes about four days each time.

The project also deals with extreme and rapidly changing weather conditions at high altitudes, necessitating constant monitoring of wind speeds.

Environmental considerations are crucial, given the sparse vegetation and diverse wildlife in the prefecture.

"We carefully chose turbine locations to avoid animal migration paths and created ecological buffer zones to ensure a normal life for wild animals," said Zhang.

Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture enjoys long sunlight hours, with over 1,400 hours of usable sunlight each year. Today, the prefecture has developed 1.84 million kilowatts of solar power capacity. Its complex landscape is crisscrossed by seven major river systems, providing ample hydropower resources, with installed hydropower capacity reaching 1.09 million kilowatts.

With the launch of the newly connected wind farm, the prefecture is building a clean energy system that includes about 58 percent of solar power, 35 percent of hydropower, and seven percent of wind power. This shift toward renewable energy has allowed the region to achieve a 100-percent green electricity supply in its grid.