At an altitude of 5,350 meters, the high-altitude wind power project completed all hoisting in Qiongjie, Tibet

China News Service, Lhasa, October 10 (Baima Yuzhen) On October 8, the second phase of the Tibet Huadian Qiongjie Wind Power Base project, constructed by China Construction Second Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd., completed the hoisting of all wind turbines. This rare ultra-high-altitude mountain wind power project in the world officially entered the electrical installation and commissioning stage, taking a key step towards full-capacity grid-connected power generation on schedule.

The picture shows the scene of wind turbine blades crossing a high-altitude winding mountain road. Photo courtesy of China Construction Second Engineering Bureau

This project is located in Qiongjie County, Shannan City, Tibet. The wind turbines are scattered in the high mountain area between 4,800 meters and 5,350 meters above sea level. The total installed capacity is 150MW, and it is equipped with 24 6.25MW wind turbine units, supporting the construction of power collection lines, towers and 220kV booster stations. It is the only pilot project (first batch) selected by the National Energy Administration to improve the construction capacity of new power systems in Tibet, and undertakes the mission of developing new energy in high cold and high altitudes.

"The oxygen content of the air here is only 50%-60% in the plains, and the temperature difference between day and night exceeds 20°C. The wind gusts come at any time, which not only tests the human body, but also easily weakens the power of large lifting equipment. Hoisting each wind turbine is an uphill battle." Zhang Hailiang, project manager of China Construction Second Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd., said that the single-section tower weighs 101.9 tons at most, the blade is 97.3 meters long, and the hub center height is 113 meters. The effective operating time is very fragmented.

The picture shows the hoisting site of 24 units of the second phase project of Tibet Qiongjie Wind Power Base in the high mountains. Photo courtesy of China Construction Second Engineering Bureau

In response to the pain points of plateau working conditions, the project implements "one machine, one policy" maintenance for large machinery, replaces special oil for high-cold temperatures, and transforms power and hydraulic systems; multi-point intelligent weather monitoring stations are deployed in a radius of 15 kilometers to capture wind speed and direction in real time, seizing the fleeting safe construction window; the site adopts modular, single-blade hoisting technology, relying on precise alignment of guide pins to complete hundreds of high-strength bolt tightening verification to maintain the quality and safety of high-altitude operations.

The transportation of large items is also full of dangers. There are more than 50 kilometers of winding mountain roads in the venue, with an altitude difference of more than 1,500 meters and dense cliffs with sharp bends. The construction team of China State Construction Engineering Corporation No. 2 Co., Ltd. surveyed and mapped the entire area, formulated a graded transfer plan, implemented measures such as roadbed reinforcement, segmented peak staggering, and one-sided traffic on cliffs, monitored the deformation of components throughout the process, and safely delivered the huge wind power components to the ridge location.

During construction, the project insisted on protecting the fragile ecology of the plateau. In the early stage, drones were used to compare and select locations to avoid the core areas of alpine meadows; construction boundaries were strictly controlled, construction waste was cleared as produced, and existing roads were given priority to be reused; vegetation restoration was carried out in a timely manner for temporary land occupations; wildlife inspections were carried out on a regular basis, and third-party environmental protection supervision was introduced to supervise the entire process to achieve parallel development and protection.

It is reported that after the project is put into operation, the annual power generation is expected to be 394 million kilowatt-hours, which can meet the annual electricity consumption of approximately 175,000 households, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 330,000 tons per year, continuously output clean wind energy from the snowy plateau, and achieve synergistic gains in economic, social, and ecological benefits. (over)