World's Highest-Altitude Wind Power Project Put into Operation

The first wind turbine units of Zhegu Distributed Wind Farm in Tsomai County, Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, were connected to the grid and started operation on Dec 22.

Located at an altitude between 4,850 and 5,500 meters, the wind farm, with a total installed capacity of 22 megawatts, has five 2.2-MW direct-driven wind turbines and five 2.2-MW doubly-fed induction wind turbines as well as one supporting 110-kilovolt booster station.

Built by Chengdu Engineering Corporation Limited and Sinohydro Bureau 5 Co., Ltd, both subsidiaries of Power Construction Corporation of China (POWERCHINA), the wind farm is a demonstration project of the country's ultra-high altitude wind power scientific research and is expected to provide construction and operation data for development of wind power industrial technologies in ultra-high altitude areas.

A view of the Zhegu Wind Farm in Tsomai County, Tibet Autonomous Region [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

It is expected to drive local economic and social development, improve local energy structure, and promote tourism to Zhegu Lake, which will have a positive effect on the country's rural revitalization.

Its operation will enhance construction of the clean energy base in Tibet and export of the power produced in the region. It will also contribute to China's goal of peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060.

(Executive editor: Niu Yilin)