On September 26, 2026, at the edge of the Kubuqi Desert in Dalat Banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia. On the work platform at an altitude of 211 meters, the builders poured the last batch of concrete, and the wall of the cooling tower in room 4 smoothly reached the top. At this point, all four intercooling towers of the supporting coal-fired power project in the northern part of the Kubu New Energy Base of Three Gorges Group have reached their peak. During the Mid Autumn Festival holiday, more than 4400 builders remained at their posts, with over 170 large machinery operating simultaneously. The main buildings, boilers, and other major projects of Units 1 to 4 were simultaneously promoted, and equipment installation and civil construction were carried out simultaneously. The project construction accelerated towards the goal of putting the units into operation.

The ingenious idea of integrating four towers into one

This project plans to construct four 1 million kilowatt high-efficiency ultra supercritical coal-fired units, which will be the supporting power source for China's first 10 million kilowatt level large-scale wind and photovoltaic base in Shagehuang. Due to water shortage in the desert, the project adopts indirect air cooling technology. The circulating water exchanges heat in a closed pipeline without direct contact with the air, resulting in a significant reduction in evaporation. What is even more innovative is that the project integrates the cooling tower, chimney, desulfurization absorption tower, and wastewater concentration tower into one, eliminating the independent chimney. The cooling tower simultaneously undertakes the dual functions of circulating water cooling and clean flue gas emission after desulfurization, which not only reduces the land occupation of the factory area but also reduces the civil engineering workload in desert areas.

Coal and electricity join hands for energy storage

Coal and electricity are not the protagonists here, but supporting role and ballast stones. The project achieves complementary and coordinated operation between wind and solar new energy and traditional coal-fired power through deep linkage between coal-fired power and energy storage. When wind and solar power are strong, new energy is generated more, and coal-fired power is deeply regulated to make room; When the wind subsides and the sun sets, coal-fired power is on top, while energy storage is responsible for second level response and smoothing fluctuations. The unit is equipped with electrochemical energy storage to participate in frequency regulation and peak shaving, and is one of the first gigawatt level coal-fired power and electrochemical energy storage coupled frequency regulation and peak shaving demonstration projects in the world; Simultaneously constructing a high-temperature molten salt energy storage system, storing excess high-temperature steam heat from boiler deep peak shaving into molten salt, and releasing it for power generation during high load, thereby enhancing peak shaving depth and capacity without increasing coal and carbon emissions. The survey and preliminary design bidding for the supporting phase-shifting camera and electrochemical energy storage project have also been initiated.

Green electricity illuminates the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region

The total installed capacity of the new energy base in the northern part of Kubu is 16.2 million kilowatts, including 8 million kilowatts of photovoltaic power, 4 million kilowatts of wind power, 200000 kilowatts of solar thermal power, 4 million kilowatts of supporting coal-fired power, and 5 million kilowatt hours of energy storage. It innovatively develops a three in one collaborative model of new energy base, supporting coal-fired power, and transmission channels. At present, wind power, photovoltaics, solar thermal, supporting energy storage, and ultra-high voltage direct current transmission projects are being constructed simultaneously. The first and second phases of photovoltaics, totaling 2 million kilowatts, have been connected to the grid for power generation. The base plans to build 24 booster stations; Dalate ± 800 kV converter station and 1000 kV substation have both entered the construction stage, jointly forming important nodes of the power transmission channel from western Mongolia to Beijing Tianjin Hebei region. After the completion of the base, it can transmit approximately 40 billion kilowatt hours of electricity to the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region annually.keywords:New energy information network

Even more rare is that this sea of sand is being awakened simultaneously. The photovoltaic sand control mode of generating electricity on the board, planting under the board, and farming between boards is deployed here: photovoltaic panels block sunlight, reducing surface evaporation by 20-30%, and drought resistant plants such as Salix and Caragana under the board take root; Coal mine dewatering water is introduced into the base for washing photovoltaic panels and drip irrigation; The photovoltaic sand control belt and the locked edge forest belt on the northern edge of the Kubuqi Desert complement each other, forming a double-layer protective net to prevent yellow sand from entering the Yellow River. From sand entering and people retreating to green entering and sand retreating, a desert is simultaneously producing green electricity and promoting comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development.Editor/Yang Meiling