100-day Green Power Supply Creates New Record

As of 24:00 on August 16, State Grid has wrapped up its 100-day “Green Power for Sanjiangyuan” campaign in Qinghai. Utilizing the abundant hydropower generated during this period, the company also realized 31 consecutive days of clean energy supply for the whole of Qinghai in July, setting another world record of clean energy development. The campaign is of great significance, and is part of State Grid’s efforts to implement China’s new energy security strategy, serve people’s needs for a better life, and build the company into a world-leading energy internet company with Chinese characteristics.

Large-scale PV power generation clusters in Hainan of Qinghai Province

Based on practices of green power supply in Qinghai over the past three years, the campaign covers 230,000 power customers in 16 counties of Sanjiangyuan area, with prolonged duration, various forms and richer contents. During the 100 days, a total of 14 activities were launched, serving the nation’s task to ensure stability on the six fronts and security in the six areas, helping to win the battle against poverty, and promoting energy technology upgrades. By embracing green energy, benefits of green development are broadly shared with the people and enterprises, supporting Qinghai to "put priority on ecological protection, promote high-quality development, and create high-quality life."

Green power transformation aims at protecting the clean waters and green mountains at Sanjiangyuan, the source of Yangtze River, Yellow River and Lancang River. During the campaign, the Qinghai-Henan ±800 kV UHV DC project, the world’s first power line mainly for transmission of renewable energy was put into use, delivering a total of 820 GWh of electricity thus far. Clean energy from Qinghai, which added up to 3.25 TWh, was sent to 8 provinces and municipalities nationwide. July saw full clean power supply throughout Qinghai for 31 consecutive days, during which the peak load hit 8.84 GW, and electricity consumption recorded 6.037 TWh, equivalent to reducing coal burning by 2,744,100 tons and carbon dioxide by 4,939,300 tons. With clean energy vigorously promoted, coal-fired captive power plants gave way to renewables and 64 MW of green power was used instead, equivalent to a 40,000-ton reduction in coal-burning.

Green power used by business park facilitates the development of the organic livestock farming industry on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

Green power paves the way for poverty alleviation and prosperity. Among the power grid construction projects in the “three regions” (Tibet, the four prefectures of Hotan, Aksu, Kashi and Kizilsu Kirgiz in southern Xinjiang, and the Tibetan ethnic areas in Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, and Qinghai) and “three prefectures” (Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan, and Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu), Qinghai has done its share, with 960 projects all completed and put into operation, benefiting 485,000 households and 1.863 million people in the province, a leap from “access to electricity” to “enjoying quality electricity” in the deeply impoverished areas of Qinghai. The innovative “photovoltaic + ecology + poverty alleviation” model has ensured the full consumption of 733.6 MV PV capacity in the province, allowing 50% of the impoverished in the locality to make profit from their PV installations. The first domestic renewable energy big data platform and the first provincial PV poverty alleviation management system have been built to ensure the timely settlement of electricity payment and the prompt and accurate transfer of poverty alleviation funds. State Grid has explored new ways of ecological conservation, which attracted birds to build more than 2,000 nests in Sanjiangyuan area, depicting a beautiful picture of the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.

A Tibetan household in Zeku County, Qinghai uses clean energy-powered heating equipment

Green power keeps delivering benefits to the people and enterprises. 42 measures in this respect have all been implemented in Qinghai, reducing the cost of electricity for enterprises by RMB 1.35 billion. For the residents and enterprises in Sanjiangyuan, a total of RMB 6.09 million was reduced or exempted in electricity charges by adopting profit-sharing measures. The shift to green power has boosted the growth of large scale and pillar industries in the province. 8 electrolytic aluminum enterprises realized production by consuming 2.717 TWh of green power. Emerging industries such as lithium battery manufacturing and wolfberry processing unique to the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau have enjoyed favorable power prices, reducing energy costs and promoting clean electricity consumption.

Continued efforts are made to upgrade energy technologies. State Grid furthers the research and application of the “Green Power Index”, and released the “Annual Report on Qinghai Green Power Development”. The company has launched "Green Power Perception Platform", enabling customers to check power they used in real time, understand their contribution to energy conservation and emission reduction, and feel green power anytime anywhere. State Grid has built an inter-provincial trade mechanism for the Smart Internet of Electric Vehicles, making green power from Qinghai accessible to EVs across the country with the help of blockchain, charging 4GWh in the first half of the year. As the dispatching and control systems featuring multi-energy complementation gets further promoted, the utilization rate of transmission channels in and out of Qinghai reached 98% during the peak of renewable generation. The simulation operation of the Qinghai power spot market is also commenced to consume renewables in a market-oriented way.

State Grid staff in Qinghai monitor and analyze green power data

Qinghai is a major province for clean energy exploration. At present, with its renewable energy installation reaching 16.09 GW, 50.4% of the energy mix, it tops all provinces in terms of the proportion of renewable energy installation and centralized PV in China. From 2017 to 2019, State Grid carried out 7-day, 9-day, and 15-day green power supply in Qinghai for three consecutive years. It continued to innovate and break through in green power supply duration, technologies, and blockchain application, maintaining the world record of clean energy supply which received widespread attention and recognition at home and abroad. Innovative practices such as the 100-day “Green Power for Sanjiangyuan” campaign in Qinghai will further promote the construction of a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system, allowing clean energy to power a better life and energize a beautiful China.