The wind in Huangzhong District of Xining still carries a chill, and on a construction site on the edge of the Gobi Desert, the drawings have been unfolded. This is not an ordinary power plant, but a supporting coal-fired power project for the Qinghai Hainan Clean Energy Transmission Base - in the future, four units will provide a backup for wind and solar power, allowing Guangdong, thousands of miles away, to use stable green electricity.

The 52nd batch of centralized bidding for the year 2026 by State Power Investment Corporation has announced the winning bidder. The EPC general contractor for the supporting coal-fired power project of the Qinghai Hainan Clean Energy Transmission Base of Yellow River Company, Hualuo State Nuclear Power Planning and Design Institute, and Shandong Electric Power Engineering Consulting Institute, jointly bid 8569.17 million yuan. The second place goes to Northwest Electric Power Design Institute of China Power Engineering Consulting Group, with a quotation of 8512.25 million yuan. The difference between the two is only 56.92 million yuan, about 0.67%. The evaluation did not only focus on the price.

The project is located in Huangzhong District, Xining City, with a scale of 4 × 660MW coal-fired units and a total installed capacity of 2640 MW. EPC includes equipment procurement, construction and installation, commissioning and trial operation, and standard production from survey and design to handover for production. It also aims to create China's high-quality power engineering and compete for the National Quality Engineering Award. The first tank of concrete for the main factory building is planned to be poured on March 15, 2027, and the four units will be put into operation one by one in March, May, July, and September 2029, with adjacent units every two months.

Supporting bottom power supply

The overall investment of the base is nearly 73 billion yuan, with a total scale of 19.44 million kilowatts, photovoltaic 9.6 million, wind power 6 million, coal-fired power 2.64 million, and energy storage 1.2 million. New energy accounts for 86.4%, relying on ± 800 kV Qingyue DC direct transmission to Guangdong. The scenery depends on the weather, with full power during the day and zero power at night. Coal power serves as a peak shaving backup, and the four units are the stabilizers of the external transmission channel. The annual external transmission of about 36 billion kilowatt hours and carbon reduction of 23.5 million tons come from here.

Two and a half years of tight schedule

24.5+2+2+2 natural months, two and a half years to operate four machines. Survey, procurement, construction, and commissioning almost overlapped, and after the main factory building reached zero meters, pile foundations, steel structures, four major pipelines, and cable trays gradually overflowed. The total contract plate with a single machine cost of about 2.14 billion yuan is not testing single point construction, but rather the coordination of the entire industry chain and the control of high-altitude construction period. Keywords: clean energy delivery, coal-fired power peak shaving for backup, EPC general contracting

From drawings to power generation

The successful candidate has been selected, which means that the construction drawings and preparations will be accelerated. The first tank of concrete fell, and the ballast stone sent by Qinghai New Energy began to pour. By 2029, when all four machines are put into operation, the combination of wind and electricity from the base will be sent out, and the channel for green electricity to enter Guangdong will be much more stable.Editor/Huang jiali