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World¡¯s First UHA PV Test and Validation Base Launched in Ganzi, Sichuan

11/16/2022

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On October 14, the PV power test and validation station in Xingchuan, Ganzi Prefecture of southwest China¡¯s Sichuan Province undertaken by SPIC saw its first units connected to the grid and generating electricity. This is a key clean energy project in the province and the world¡¯s first ultrahigh altitude (UHA) PV test and validation base.

With a total installed capacity of 600MW, the PV power test and validation station covers a land area of about 13,650 mu (about 910 hectares) and has a total investment of roughly 3.2 billion yuan. When fully connected to the grid, it will generate 1,268GWh electricity annually on average, saving about 390,000 tons of standard coal equivalent and reducing 1.07 million tons of CO2 emissions per year. That will further optimize Sichuan¡¯s energy mix and help it balance energy supply and demand in extreme weather conditions and emergencies.

Several of SPIC¡¯s innovations have been applied in this PV power test and validation station that is tasked to conduct tests and validations on PV, energy storage products, and new technologies. Consisting of PV modules, inverters, supporting brackets, and energy storage devices, the test and validation base has tried out 127 schemes to make a comprehensive comparison of five experimental zones.

The use of emerging digital technologies such as cloud computing, big data, IoT, mobile Internet, and smart city enables the station to be supervised through remote centralized control thanks to a host of digitalized systems, including intelligent construction management, Digital Twin production and maintenance management, and intelligent inverter diagnosis.

When put into operation, the station will be China¡¯s first ever PV test and validation base located at an ultrahigh altitude and mid-latitude. The experimental data it gathers will be shared with energy regulators and industrial research agencies to support Sichuan in making new energy policies and promoting healthy development.

Located within the ecological demonstration area of northwest Sichuan, Ganzi Prefecture is a vital ecological barrier for western China and the Tibetan region. During the construction, SPIC Sichuan Electric Power Co., Ltd. worked closely with the contractors to plan and push forward the project simultaneously with resource and environmental protection. Adopting a ¡°1+N¡± holistic development model, the project, taking into account the surface vegetation and the original land usage, aims to create a PV ecosystem integrating power generation, water collection and storage, irrigation and planting that will help reduce evaporation, even out water resources, retain water and soil, and restore ecology. Quality forage varieties suitable for high altitude will also be planted for win-win results between ecological conservation and project development.