New wind farm to supply energy to 140,000 households in Tibet

The wind power facility at the highest altitude in China realized full-capacity power generation in Tibet autonomous region on Wednesday, expecting to optimize regional power structure and alleviate the shortage of power supply in Tibet during winter.

With an altitude ranging from 5,000 to 5,200 meters, the power station is located in Tsomai county of Lhokha city. The total installed capacity is 72.6 megawatts, with 25 turbines deployed. Annual power generation will exceed 200 million kilowatt-hours, which can meet the electricity consumption of nearly 140,000 households in the surrounding area for one year, according to the China Three Gorges Project Corp, who constructed the station.

Tibet mainly uses hydropower and photovoltaic power, contributing 89.81 percent and 7.73 percent to total power generation, respectively. The supply faces a shortage during night and winter, especially in November and December. The new turbines will take advantage of Tsomai's wind resources to complement the current situation.

Wang Liang, the project manager, told Xinhua News Agency that they used turbines with a single-unit capacity of over 3 megawatts. They will improve the utilization efficiency of local wind resources.

The 3.6-megawatt turbines have a rotor diameter of 160 meters, which help operate stably in harsh natural environments with high resistance to ultraviolet rays, lightning, low temperature and icing, Wang added.