The world is in a race against time to combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and building a diversified portfolio of low-carbon generation assets has become a priority for power companies everywhere.

In Mainland China, CLP China has expanded its renewable energy portfolio to meet the nation’s growing demand for clean energy and achieve the goal of making the country carbon neutral by 2060.

One major recent project is Qian’an III Wind Farm – CLP’s first wholly owned, grid-parity renewable energy project that doesn’t rely on government subsidies – and building it presented bone-chilling challenges for engineers.

Despite the hostile, icy environment, the project in China’s industrial Jilin province was connected to the grid in December 2021, five months ahead of schedule, and went into commercial operation in March 2022. 

With its three phases and a total of 106 turbines with a combined capacity of 199MW, Qian’an Wind Farm is currently the largest single site wind asset in CLP’s portfolio. CLP has 13 wholly-owned wind farms and 18 minority-owned project in Mainland China with a total installed equity capacity of 1,211MW.

Packing a powerful punch

Qian’an III Wind Farm is the first CLP China project of its kind equipped with a battery energy storage system (BESS), allowing operators to capture excess energy and release stored energy to the network at times when wind speeds are low.

The BESS has a storage capacity of 5.5MWh, enough to power 20 typical households for a month, strengthening the farm’s supply reliability and contributing to grid stability. It also enhances the commercial viability of renewable energy projects in the country. 

Controlling the chill factor

Every winter, Jilin is hit by powerful cold waves and fierce blizzards that send temperatures plummeting. While ideal for wind power generation, the province’s extreme weather made life unusually difficult for the project team.

During construction, the site of the wind farm was hit by record-breaking snowfall and torrential rainfall, as well as disruption caused by COVID-19 restrictions.

The minus 30°C cold wave that swept Jilin province in the winter – coupled with a remarkable 16 degrees temperature drop in the space of one day – posed immense obstacles to traffic, communications, and construction progress. 

Assistant Manager of Asset Management and Operations (China) John Ching says the region’s weather was a particular challenge throughout the 10-month project.

“Even though we are fully confident that our wind turbines are well designed to handle the harsh taiga conditions, we still have to closely monitor the weather conditions and review our emergency control measures to tackle any unprecedented circumstances,” he explains.

The height of roads was raised to avoid them being flooded, regular snow clearance was carried out, and works were suspended during blizzards and heavy rainfall. Meanwhile, all-weather tents were set up for fibre optics technicians working in icy temperatures.

Ching recalls: “All our equipment was specifically designed for ‘once-in-50-year’ conditions, with a safety margin to cope with extreme weather in northeast China, including temperatures as low as minus 40°C.”

Despite the logistical and meteorological hurdles, the project was successfully completed in December 2021 with zero harm and no lost-time incidents.

Reaping the wild wind

CLP China is currently investing in two more grid-parity farms as it continues to build its wind energy portfolio – the 50MW Xundian II Wind Farm in Yunnan province and the 150MW Bobai Wind Farm in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Construction of Xundian II Wind Farm and Bobai Wind Farm is due to begin this year, and the two farms are anticipated to be connected to the grid by the second half of 2022 and mid-2024 respectively.

China’s dual carbon targets of reaching a carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutral status by 2060 call for more renewable and nuclear energy projects. Wind and solar energy will play an increasingly vital role in CLP’s expanding portfolio as engineers tame the elements to achieve Mainland China’s green energy goals.