Ascending the Peak and Creating the Extreme

——Innovation in High Mountain Wind Power Technology Management from the Perspective of Zhuzishan Wind Farm

Zhuzi Mountain is located in the southwest of Qujing City, Yunnan Province, with towering mountains and winding streams. At the end of January, although it was already late winter, the foothills here were lush with greenery and full of vitality. Looking up in the distance, white wind turbines stand along the mountain terrain, with huge blades spinning in the wind, converting the strong wind energy on the high mountains into clean electricity.

High mountains are difficult to climb, and the construction of high-altitude wind farms is even more challenging. How to ensure the safe operation of wind farms in extreme high-altitude environments? What are the advantages of building wind power projects in mountainous areas? The reporter came to the Zhuzishan Wind Farm of Longyuan Power Yunnan Company (hereinafter referred to as "Longyuan Yunnan Company") under the National Energy Group to explore the unique "charm" of high-altitude wind power in China.

The regional power grid, mostly for local consumption, greatly meets the local demand for power supply guarantee.

'Fate' determines Zhuzi Mountain

Driving from Kunming, the road is filled with mountains and rugged terrain, making one feel as if they are immersed in the "ocean" of mountains. When the car reached the mountain road in Luliang County, Qujing City, one could already appreciate the tall and upright figures of the wind turbines up close.

Standing on the observation deck of the wind farm, gazing at the continuous flow of wind turbines and the complex terrain hovering in the distance, the reporter couldn't help but ask, "What were the initial considerations for developing and constructing a wind farm in such a high-altitude mountainous area

The construction of Zhuzishan Wind Farm has benefited from China's active development and utilization of wind energy resources in the southwest region in recent years. As a clean energy source, wind power generation plays an increasingly important role in the energy structure of Yunnan Province and even the whole country.

Yunnan is mainly characterized by mountainous and plateau terrain, with mountainous areas accounting for 88.6% of the total area of the province. There are very few plain and hilly resources available for the construction of large-scale wind power plants. In order to create a world-class "green energy brand", the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government are unwilling to be constrained by innate conditions and have formulated a series of policy plans, such as the "Yunnan Province Moderate Development and Utilization of New Energy Plan in Suitable Areas", "Construction Plan for Moderate Development and Utilization of New Energy Bases in Suitable Areas", and "Implementation Plan for Moderate Development and Utilization of New Energy in Suitable Areas", to promote the construction of a large number of new energy bases.

High mountain wind power has many advantages, with abundant wind resources and stable wind speeds in high-altitude areas. Moreover, high-altitude wind farms occupy a small area and occupy less land resources, "said Huang Wei, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Longyuan Yunnan Company." With strong policy support, the Zhuzishan wind power project takes ecological civilization construction and green high-quality development as its own responsibility, strengthens deep integration and mutual promotion with rural revitalization, ecological restoration, energy equipment manufacturing and other fields, promotes the high-quality development of Yunnan's new energy industry chain, and builds a new development pattern of green energy

Zhuzi Mountain has an altitude of 2100-2600 meters and continuous mountain winds throughout the year, making it an excellent location for building high-altitude wind farms. A few years ago, this place was still covered in mountains and forests, with few people visiting. Now, by excavating the "rich mine" of wind energy resources, the electricity situation of the surrounding people has been significantly improved.

In the past, there were frequent power outages in the county town. Since the establishment of our Zhuzishan project, the power supply has become increasingly stable in recent years. "Li Qiangbing, a maintenance technician at Zhuzishan Wind Farm, lives not far from the project site. In his memory, candles and oil lamps need to be kept in his home. Nowadays, these" retro "lighting fixtures are almost useless.

According to statistics, the annual power generation of the Zhuzishan wind power project reaches 542.088 million kilowatt hours, which can meet the annual electricity consumption of about 800000 residents. The electricity generated by the project is integrated into the Qujing area power grid, with most of it being consumed locally, greatly meeting the local demand for power supply.

At the lifting site of Zhuzishan Wind Farm, the wind turbine tower is being lifted.

Stable and upright, what does it rely on

Get off the observation deck and walk one to two hundred meters to reach the wind farm operation and control center. Entering the control room, the digital large screen on the wall is particularly eye-catching, displaying the real-time operation of the wind farm on the screen.

The total installed capacity of Zhuzishan Wind Farm is 212.8 MW, with a total of 38 units. Since its grid connection and operation, the wind farm has operated stably and achieved significant economic benefits, "said Wang Yancheng, the head of Zhuzishan Project Department of Longyuan Yunnan Company.

Looking back on the bumpy scene of driving on winding paths, it stands in stark contrast to the spacious, bright, and well-organized "modern" facilities indoors. It's hard to imagine what challenges wind farms face in the early stages of construction.

We overcame numerous difficulties to finally build this wind farm, "Wang Yancheng admitted." The Zhuzishan wind farm is located in a high-altitude area with complex terrain and large undulations. There are few flat sites available for construction, and the transportation of large-scale wind power equipment and building materials, as well as the layout planning of wind turbines, booster stations and other facilities, are very difficult. At the same time, specialized transportation roads need to be built, which greatly increases construction costs and time

"The climate in the mountainous areas of Yunnan is changeable, and extreme weather such as strong wind, rainstorm, thunder, low temperature and freezing are very easy to occur, which brings a lot of inconvenience to the arrangement of construction plans and construction safety management. At that time, people often have to work overtime to discuss countermeasures." When it comes to planting in the early stage of project construction, Yin Xiaoying, the deputy manager of the Zhuzishan Project Department, has been hard to forget.

What is it that enables wind turbines to stand firmly in high-altitude areas in the face of severe challenges?

The answer is technological innovation.

As a critical component of power generation equipment, the electrical system can provide protection for the normal operation of wind turbines. In response to the insulation problems caused by thin air at high altitudes and the heat dissipation issues of inverters in high humidity environments, we have carried out improvements to the inverter contactor, over temperature rectification, air duct optimization design, start stop strategy optimization, communication protocol optimization, etc. for the wind turbine, effectively improving the fault free operation time of the inverter, "said Lu Peng, the person in charge of the production technology department.

At the same time, we have also made many attempts to strengthen the mechanical structure. For example, we have improved the heat dissipation system to ensure the heat dissipation needs of the equipment in high-altitude and low-temperature environments; strengthened the investment in blade anti icing technology, adopting coating anti icing, electric heating anti icing, gas heating anti icing and other technologies to minimize the harm caused by blade icing as much as possible, "Lu Peng further added.

Whether in the power grid or power generation field, icing phenomenon has always been a major challenge to the safe operation of energy equipment. The Zhuzishan wind power project has made remarkable progress in upgrading the anti icing technology of wind turbine blades based on technological innovation.

According to the reporter's understanding, the project applies intelligent monitoring and control technology to create an ice detection and control system, and establishes a blade icing model through 3D simulation software. When the blade tip icing thickness reaches the threshold, the heating device is activated to achieve rapid ice melting.

The construction period of the project is crucial, and ensuring the stable operation and efficient maintenance of the wind farm cannot be ignored. Due to the complex terrain and variable climate, the equipment of high-altitude wind farms is easily damaged and worn out.

We have innovatively applied the EAM intelligent operation and maintenance system in operation and maintenance management, establishing equipment ledger for each unit, recording spare parts inventory, providing standard fault code library, analyzing operation status through work order records, and improving the accuracy and efficiency of equipment maintenance, "said Ma Jinxiong, Deputy Director of the Control Center." Preventive maintenance is also essential. Based on the characteristics of the plateau climate, we implement comprehensive maintenance of the units, accurately evaluate the health status of each wind turbine unit, carry out preventive maintenance, eliminate faults in the bud stage, and improve the fault free operation time of the units

In order to effectively prevent problems before they occur, project operation and maintenance also have a "secret weapon".

Zou Qingfei, the safety specialist of the Diandong Maintenance Center, told reporters that each fan on site is covered with various sensors with different functions, which can view real-time online vibration data, equipment operation data, etc. During the operation of the wind turbine, this data is transmitted in real-time to the digital monitoring platform, which establishes a fault warning model based on the data, achieving the transformation from "alarm" to "warning" and from "passive maintenance" to "predictive maintenance".

Nowadays, relying on advanced technology, the daily operation and maintenance of Zhuzishan Wind Farm only requires three people, which not only greatly improves the efficiency of operation and maintenance, but also effectively avoids the safety hazards of manual operation.

Green energy "rotates" mountains

Stepping out of the operation and maintenance center, the reporter looked back at the wind turbines that were rotating in the wind, blending seamlessly with the surrounding green mountains and waters, cutting through the sea of clouds at a constant pace. This Gaoshan wind farm, with a total investment of 1.112 billion yuan and a total installed capacity of over 200 megawatts, has been fully connected to the grid since 2021. While rewriting the energy map of Yunnan, it has become a new pivot to leverage regional economic and social development.

The proportion of hydropower in Yunnan has exceeded 70% for a long time, but seasonal drought problems still exist. The relevant person in charge of Yunnan Provincial Energy Bureau stated that Yunnan has been experiencing a "power shortage" for three consecutive years since 2021, exposing the structural contradiction of "hydropower dominance" in the power industry. On the surface, the reason for the "power shortage" is due to insufficient power supply capacity, while the underlying reason is the insufficient ability of the electricity structure dominated by hydropower to cope with uncertainty risks.

The average annual wind speed of Zhuzishan is 6.8 meters per second, and the effective power generation hours exceed 3000 hours, which fills the gap in energy security. At present, the annual power generation of the project is equivalent to saving 146000 tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 388000 tons. This has provided practical assistance for optimizing the energy structure, enriching energy types, and improving the stability and security of the energy system in the local area.

This kind of assistance is also reflected in large electricity consumers. There are various industrial clusters around Zhuzishan, including silicon-based material manufacturing, zinc smelting and deep processing, and aquaculture. The construction of wind farms has reduced electricity costs for local enterprises and significantly improved the clean energy utilization rate of local industrial enterprises.

At the same time, the arrival of wind farms has reconstructed the economic geography of mountainous areas. Wang Yancheng told reporters that during the project construction period, 130 million yuan of locally sourced building materials such as sand and gravel were procured, and a total of 5000 local laborers were absorbed; Among the 15 fixed maintenance personnel employed during the operation period, local youth account for 33%. The more profound impact lies in the improvement of infrastructure - the 64 kilometer winding mountain road built with supporting facilities makes transportation more convenient for villages along the route.

It is worth mentioning that while seeking benefits for regional economic development, Longyuan Yunnan Company has also planned an "economic account" for Zhuzishan Wind Farm, promoting the sustainable development of wind farm operation and maintenance management in the future.

Huang Wei pointed out, "In order to ensure the efficient operation and maintenance, cost savings, and long-term stable operation of high-altitude wind power projects, we have achieved the separation of operation and maintenance of new energy stations through centralized monitoring, regional maintenance, and specialized management measures. The level of production operation management and maintenance efficiency have been greatly improved, gradually shifting from unplanned maintenance after the fact to planned maintenance before the fact

Thanks to the refined operation and maintenance mode, the production efficiency of new energy power plants has been significantly improved. According to statistics, Longyuan Yunnan Company will achieve an annual power generation of 3.03 billion kilowatt hours in 2024, with a cumulative annual power generation exceeding the target by 200 million kilowatt hours, achieving the power generation target for three consecutive years; The failure rate of wind turbines has decreased by 30% year-on-year, and effective measures have been taken to prevent equipment leakage. The quality of safe and civilized production has greatly improved; The long-term operation of the 365 day machine group reached 60.29%, an increase of 18.72% year-on-year; All annual assessment indicators have been successfully completed, and the "difficult and miscellaneous problems" of the station have been effectively resolved, basically achieving the construction of unmanned stations with fewer personnel.

Wind energy is a clean and renewable energy source, but it is greatly affected by geographical environment. Therefore, in terms of how to effectively combine with local resource advantages and truly tap into industrial synergy value, the Zhuzishan Wind Farm project of Longyuan Yunnan Company provides us with a new paradigm and new ideas. "Xu Jin, Chief Economist of China Energy Construction Group Investment Co., Ltd., analyzed that, This project actively strengthens the deep integration of policies such as rural revitalization, ecological restoration, and industrial revitalization by leveraging the leading role of the entire industry chain of high-altitude wind power generation. It vigorously cultivates and forms an 'ecosystem' covering wind energy development, resident employment, energy conservation and consumption reduction, and other industrial developments. It establishes a new model for green development of enterprises and brings considerable economic benefits. At the same time, it plays an irreplaceable role in promoting the optimization of local energy structure, assisting rural revitalization, improving people's livelihoods, and promoting high-quality regional economic development. It is a great good thing that benefits the country, the people, and enterprises. As a vivid practice of green energy transformation, it provides useful reference for other mountainous areas to explore energy development models suitable for local characteristics

The dusk gradually darkened, and the wind turbines on the ridge lit up their sailing lights, like a string of leaping stars. The mountain wind swept over the anemometer on the roof of the control room, and on this high mountain peak in the southwest border, a symphony of green development was stirring in the wind.

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