Stories of High-Quality Development | Wind power from afar lights up China's 'city of the future'

Narrators: 

Zhang Rui, Deputy Director of the Main City Power Supply Service Center, State Grid Xiong'an New Area Power Supply Company

Chen Mingxing, Researcher of Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences

How does wind power from Zhangbei county light up the homes in Xiong'an?

In the Rongdong area of Xiong'an New Area, Jucun substation, a green power hub hidden in a park blends seamlessly into the urban landscape, supplying electricity to over 130,000 households in the surrounding area.

"Integrating water, electricity, gas, heating, and communications into an underground integrated utility corridor, and promoting 100 percent of clean energy in power supply, is part of Xiong'an New Area's forward-looking long-term planning," said Chen Mingxing, researcher of Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Placing all municipal pipelines in a unified corridor avoids repeated road excavation and haphazard pipeline laying, as well as facilitates centralized maintenance and capacity expansion. It also makes intensive use of both above-ground and underground space, freeing up more land for greening and public amenities while improving the city's appearance. At the same time, it reduces the risk of exposed pipeline damage and strengthens the city's resilience against disasters.

Yet renewable energy from wind and solar is inherently variable due to naturally fluctuating output. So how do we steadily receive this green power? It requires efforts on two sides.

At the generation site, our 1,000 kV ultra-high-voltage controllable shunt reactor technology acts like a sentinel guarding the transmission corridor, holding voltage steady. It monitors the system in real time and responds as soon as voltage becomes unstable, smoothing out fluctuations instantly. Every year, it delivers more than 7 billion kWh of green electricity steadily to Xiong'an, enough to meet a year's household electricity needs for more than 2 million families.

On the consumption side, we have given the grid an intelligent "brain" that picks up on changes in downstream demand as they happen, letting every kilowatt‑hour of electricity go exactly where it is needed.

"I haven't even called to report a problem, and you are already here!" said Mr. Wang, who runs a seafood shop in Zandong village, Zangang town. He experienced a sudden power outage that stopped his oxygen pumps and put his fish and shrimp at risk of suffocation. The unexpected arrival of the technicians that surprised him is exactly the proactive repair model being fully promoted in Xiong'an. With the help of a low-voltage smart analysis platform, the system can intelligently detect and precisely locate power outage faults on the low-voltage side.

By concealing the power substations, bringing green electricity into the grid, and making the system smarter, the boundless wind and light that nature provides is steadily lighting up Xiong'an, the "city of the future," through an "invisible" and "thinking" power grid.