Successfully connected to the grid! Sany Renewable Energy's ultra-high altitude wind turbine on the "roof of the world"

On August 3, CCTV-1 and CCTV-13 reported that the first batch of units of the Zhegu 50MW wind power project in Cuomei County, Shannan County, Tibet, the highest wind power project in China, was connected to the grid, and the first batch of 5 units connected to the grid were all Sany Renewable Energy wind turbines with a single capacity of 3.6MW, which is the largest wind turbine in China's ultra-high altitude area. The successful grid connection of the project has brought the development of ultra-high altitude unit technology in the wind power industry to a new height.

Tibet Cuomei Zhegu Wind Farm is located in Zhegu Town, Cuomei County, Shannan City, at the northern foot of the Himalayas, with wind turbines built between 5,000 meters and 5,200 meters above sea level, which is China's first ultra-high altitude wind power development technology research and technology demonstration project, and also the first wind power project to be integrated into Tibet's main power grid. After the project is fully completed and put into operation, the annual on-grid electricity will exceed 200 million kWh, which can meet the annual electricity consumption of nearly 140,000 surrounding families.

As early as 2020, the Three Gorges Corporation began to promote the construction of the Cuomei Zhegu Wind Farm Project in Tibet in accordance with the overall idea of "base-based, large-scale, centralized and contiguous" wind power development. Sany Renewable Energy actively responded to customer needs and specially developed and designed a customized unit for the project, SI-16036 wind turbine, for the high-altitude environment, all the technical indicators of the unit's electrical components were specially adjusted and tested in accordance with the low pressure, low density and high ultraviolet environment in the plateau area, so as to fully meet the needs of plateau operation.

Photos of the hoisting of the first unit of the project

The high-altitude areas are relatively harsh in terms of transportation and climate, and it is difficult to build wind farms on the "roof of the world". The site will face problems such as difficult concrete temperature control, poor fan hoisting conditions, long-distance transportation of large items, and difficult construction. During the construction of the project, Sany Renewable Energy actively cooperated with the customer to overcome various problems and completed the project on time, protecting the interests of the customer.

The air density is low at high altitudes, and the wind blowing is "weak" compared to the same wind speed conditions in the plains. In addition, the airflow conditions, air pressure conditions and climatic conditions at high altitudes all put forward higher requirements for the unit. In response to these problems, Sany Renewable Energy Unit has mainly made the following four innovations:

Long blades improve power generation efficiency

"If the wind in the plains is a bowl of rice, then the wind in the plateau is like a bowl of porridge, and we "feed" the fan by making the bowl bigger. Li Chunshan, a service engineer of Sany Renewable Energy, said in the news. In view of the plateau wind resources and environment, Sany Renewable Energy equipped the project unit with long blades to enhance the wind catching ability by increasing the wind sweeping area of the unit. Compared with other regional units of the same power, the impeller diameter of this unit has increased by about 20 meters, and the sweeping area has increased by nearly 30%, which is equivalent to the area of 11 basketball courts.

Customized pneumatic shape ensures stable operation

The movement speed of the front end of the fan blade is very large, "faster than a supercar", and the air density in the plateau area is low, and the airflow has a great impact on the operation of the blades.

Customized coatings extend service life

In the high-altitude environment, there are also problems such as high ultraviolet intensity, drastic changes in high and low temperatures, and frequent erosion by wind, sand, rain and snow.

Smart wind farms ensure reliable O&M

In addition to technological innovation, Sany Renewable Energy has also made innovations to solve the problem of difficult manual operation and maintenance of high-altitude wind farms. Using the digital and intelligent technology of smart wind farms, real-time monitoring of on-site weather conditions and unit operation, early warning of potential faults, preparation of spare parts in advance, and finally reduce the failure rate, increase power generation and ensure the economic benefits of the owners under the premise of unattended and few people on duty.

The successful grid connection of the first batch of units of the Cuomei Zhegu Wind Farm in Tibet is a milestone in the development of China's wind power industry. Sany Renewable Energy will continue to deepen the field of wind power technology, continue to innovate and explore, provide impetus for the high-quality development of China's wind power industry, and strive to achieve the "double carbon" goal.