China's First "Desert-Gobi-Wasteland" New Energy Mega Base Supporting Peak-Shaving Power Source Fully Commissioned

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 2, Unit 6 of the Zhongwei Power Plant of CHN Energy Ningxia Electric Power passed the 168-hour trial operation, marking the full-capacity commissioning of all four 660 MW units of the supporting peak-shaving power source for China's first "desert-Gobi-wasteland" new energy mega base. This is of great significance for accelerating the construction of a new energy system during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period and supporting the realization of the national "dual carbon" goals.

The Ningxia Tengger "desert-Gobi-wasteland" new energy mega base and the supporting power source base for the "Ningxia-Hunan DC" project is China's first "desert-Gobi-wasteland" new energy mega base to receive "dual approval" from the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration. Relying on the Ningxia-to-Hunan ±800 kV ultra-high-voltage direct current project, the base is equipped with 13 million kW of new energy projects, including 4 million kW of wind power, 9 million kW of photovoltaic power, and 4.64 million kW of peak-shaving coal power.

As an important peak-shaving power source for the base, the Zhongwei Power Plant, after full-capacity commissioning, will provide stable support for the green electricity transmission from the Ningxia Tengger "desert-Gobi-wasteland" new energy mega base. Focusing on the core demand for deep peak shaving, the project ramps up to meet peaks, lowers output to fill valleys, tracks load rates, and enables flexible start-stop operations. It achieves green electricity coupling with the Tengger "desert-Gobi-wasteland" new energy base, solves the challenge of grid connection and consumption of "desert-Gobi-wasteland" new energy, and provides stable power and voltage support for transmitting green electricity to the "three Xiang" region.

Anchored to its positioning as the peak-shaving power source for the "desert-Gobi-wasteland" mega base, the project is the first to promote the transformation of thermal power from a traditional "main body of electricity quantity" to a "supporting main body" of the power system. It effectively smooths out the intermittent fluctuations of wind power, photovoltaic power, and other outputs, ensures large-scale consumption of new energy, and builds a new collaborative operation model of "flexible thermal power regulation and efficient new energy consumption." Its AGC regulation rate of 2.27% rated power per minute exceeds the requirement of 2.2% rated power per minute for new-generation coal-fired units. The project's four 660 MW units are designed for an annual power generation of 11.8 billion kWh, which can ensure stable transmission of clean energy and create a replicable and promotable CHN Energy model for the large-scale construction of new-type power systems during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.

Construction of the project began on April 26, 2024. It is the first in China to adopt the "four units built simultaneously" model, integrated air-cooling platform design, 750 kV booster station steel structure five-span combined layout, and suspended "four-pipe cluster" chimney technology, and it pioneered the 20%-100% full-domain adaptive intelligent cruise control technology for thermal power units. Since the first unit was commissioned in January this year, all four units achieved full-capacity commissioning within nine months, setting a new record for the commissioning interval of similar thermal power projects in China.

The project is fully empowered by digital intelligence and builds a four-dimensional smart power plant system. Focusing on the four dimensions of safety, production, operation, and collaboration, it establishes a "four-in-one" decision-making system for the smart power plant, enabling real-time collection of plant-wide data, intelligent analysis, and precise decision-making, and driving a fundamental shift in management mode from "experience-driven" to "data-driven."

At the same time, the project achieves 100% full reuse of urban reclaimed water, zero extraction of Yellow River water for production, and ultra-low pollutant emissions that are overall better than national standards. With advanced and stable low-carbon environmental protection indicators, it builds a green development model for coal power in "desert-Gobi-wasteland" areas, achieving a win-win outcome for supply guarantee and ecological environmental protection.