AcrossChina:SmartphotovoltaicbaserevitalizesNWChina'sbarrenlands_GuangmingOnlineThisphototakenonMarch27,2024showsaviewoftheNingdongpowerplantoftheNingxiaPowerCo.,Ltd.ofCHNEnergyinLingwuCity,northwestChina'sNingxiaHuiAutonomousRegion.(Xinhua/LiuHai)YINCHUAN,May15(Xinhua)--InLingwuCity,nestledinnorthwestChina'sNingxiaHuiAutonomousRegion,liesavastexpanseof3.7millioncloselyalignedphotovoltaicpanels,gleamingunderthesun,creatingamesmerizingdisplayamidsttheotherwisedesolatelandscape.ThesephotovoltaicpanelsarepartoftheCHNEnergyNingdong2-million-kilowattcompoundphotovoltaicbase.MaJianbao,atechnicianfromabranchofNingxiaPowerCo.,Ltd.underCHNEnergy,conductsdailycheckswithhisteamusingunmannedaerialvehiclesinthecontrolcenterinYinchuan,capitalofNingxia,whichissome100kmaway."Dronespatrolpredeterminedroutes,relayingreal-timeimagesofthebase.Injust30minutes,acomprehensivereportisgeneratedwithafaultrecognitionaccuracyofupto90percent,significantlyenhancinginspectionefficiency,"Masaid.Ningxia'sfavorableterrain,robustpowergrid,andstableoutputhavemadeitavitalhubforChina'swest-to-eastpowertransmissionprogram,supplyingelectricitytoover10provincesincludingShandongandZhejiang.Lingwuisrichincoalresources.Overtheyears,somecoalminingareashavebeenleftbehindbyminingactivitiesinthecity.Thephotovoltaicbasespanningnearly60,000mu(about4,000hectares)hasutilizedthebarrenhillsandslopesthatfeaturemining-subsidenceandgoafareas,infusingthemwithnewvitality.Equippedwithanintegratedintelligentmanagementplatform,thebaseusescutting-edgetechnologiessuchasintelligentcleaning,inspectionandgeologicalsubsidencemonitoringtodrivethesmartanddigitalevolutionofthenewenergyphotovoltaicindustry."Previously,apowerstationofthismagnitudewouldrequireaworkforceexceeding150forsafeoperationandmaintenance.Now,withsevendronesworkingatthesametime,acompletebaseinspectioncanbecompletedinonlythreeweeks,"Masaid.Rowsofpanelsinthephotovoltaicbasearebeingcleanedbyanunmannedintelligentrobot,leavingthemshiningbrightly."AsNingxiaissurroundedbydesertsonthreesides,ourpanelsfrequentlyaccumulatesandanddust,diminishingtheirefficiency.Tosolvethisproblem,we'vedevelopedthisunmannedcleaningrobot,"saidZhangLei,deputydirectoroftheNingdongphotovoltaicpowerstation."Leveragingbigdata,cloudcomputingand5G+,thebaseachievesintelligentoperationandmaintenance,drivingthecreationofnewqualityproductiveforcestailoredtotheregion'sneeds,"headded.Inlinewiththecarbonpeakingandcarbonneutralitygoalsofthecountry,China'sphotovoltaicindustryalsochampionssustainabilityandgreendevelopment.Underscoringtheecologicalbenefitsofthe2-million-kilowattbase,Zhangsaidthatthebasegeneratesapproximately3.7billionkilowatt-hoursofgreenelectricityforZhejiangannually,whichisequivalenttosavingabout1.15milliontonnesofstandardcoalandreducingsome3.15milliontonnesofcarbondioxideemission.Locatedover20kmawayfromthebase,theNingdongpowerplantoftheNingxiaPowerCo.,Ltd.,CHNEnergy,hastransformedformerminingpoolsintoaphotovoltaicpowerstation.XueXiaowen,whoworksatthepowerplant,explainedtheenvironmentalbenefits,suchasreducedfreshwaterevaporationandflourishingaquaticlifeinthearea."Previously,wereleasedsomefishfrytotestwhetherthewaterqualityhadimproved.Nowthatthefishhavegrown,theareahasattractedmanywaterfowl,includingwildducks,aswellasnationallyprotectedanimals,"Xuesaid.Ningxia'snewenergyinstalledcapacitysurpassed36millionkilowattsbytheendof2023.■AnunmannedcleaningrobotisinoperationattheCHNEnergyNingdong2-million-kilowattcompoundphotovoltaicbaseinLingwuCity,northwestChina'sNingxiaHuiAutonomousRegion,March27,2024.(Xinhua/LiuHai)Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.