A heliostat field array used for solar thermal power generation after snow photographed in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, January 25, 2024. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jia Zhao.
Dunhuang is a magical place, witnessing countless rushes and love. Some people stayed in Dunhuang to protect the Mogao Grottoes, while others stayed to build the Gobi Desert.
Liu Fuguo is the latter. Originally from Inner Mongolia, he has served as the general manager of Dunhuang Shouhang Energy Conservation and New Energy since 2016. The project he is responsible for is located 20 kilometers from Mingsha Mountain, known as the "super solar thermal power station" on the Gobi Desert – covering an area equivalent to 780 football fields, consisting of 1Composed of 20,000 mirrors. Each 115-square-metre mirror is arranged in concentric circles on the ground, chasing the sun like sunflowers, reflecting the sunlight into a 260-meter-high heat-absorbing tower in the center. Dazzling points of light can also be seen from tens of kilometers away.
The tower CSP works similarly to how a thermal power plant uses coal to heat water vapor, which then uses steam to propel the turbines to generate electricity. Here, though, sunlight is the equivalent of coal in a thermal power station. The heliostat reflects sunlight to the top of the tower, where it heats the molten salt to over 500 degrees Celsius, after which electricity is generated through the high-temperature molten salt. The high-temperature molten salt stored during the day can continue to generate electricity at night, allowing for 24-hour uninterrupted operation.
Dunhuang has the advantages of long sunshine hours and large solar radiation, which attracted the 100 MW CSP station to settle here and connect to the grid in 2018.
When the reporter visited the power station, a light snow had just fallen in Dunhuang, and the metal bracket on the back of the heliostat was facing the sun, and defrosting work was underway.
Due to the short hours of sunshine in winter, Liu Fuguo decided to take advantage of this "not too busy" opportunity to update the equipment and replace the imported steam turbines used for power generation with domestic brands.
On January 25, 2024, the heat absorption tower of the Dunhuang molten salt tower solar thermal power station in Gansu Province shines on the Gobi Desert. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yuan Quan.
The power generation department responsible for updating the equipment has a total of 77 technicians in 8 teams, with an average age of only 24 years old. Wu Wei, a 36-year-old power generation manager, is an "old comrade" in the team and has been working in the energy industry for 11 years. After graduating from university, he worked at a coal-fired power plant in Yumen City, Gansu Province. The construction of the CSP project in 2016 gave Wu Wei the opportunity to return to his hometown of Dunhuang to work, and also started his career in the field of new energy.
The centralized control room is also Wu Wei's office. There is a whole wall-sized screen that displays a variety of ** signals and real-time data. There are two rows of computers in front of the screen, and technicians in gray overalls have to sit in front of the computers for 24 hours of uninterrupted monitoring, and use walkie-talkies to communicate with the maintenance and inspection personnel in the factory.
On the left and right sides of the screen, there are medals of "advanced collective" and a picture of "rushing duck", which makes the atmosphere of the centralized control room look serious and lively. Next to the picture is the team's slogan "Go Ahead": Every effort you make is one step closer to your dreams.
Working in this super CSP plant requires both excellent technology and strong physique. Wu Wei said that a colleague once overhauled equipment outdoors at more than minus 20 degrees, and when he came back after more than an hour, he found that the soles of his shoes were frozen and cracked.
Although it was hard work, Wu Wei was proud of his work. The CSP plant can generate up to 100,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per hour, which is equivalent to the electricity produced by burning 122 tons of coal.
A day later, at 4:58 a.m., Wu Wei sent a message saying that the problems caused by the new equipment had finally been solved and the unit had entered normal operation. Everyone was relieved, and Wu Wei said that he could finally get a good night's sleep. On the same day, he used his mobile phone to take a picture of more than a dozen staff members staring at the screen in the centralized control room. He said it was a matter of concentrating on solving the problem.
On January 25, 2024, Liu Fuguo (second from left) inspected the operation situation with the staff on duty in the centralized control room of the first phase of the Dunhuang molten salt tower solar thermal power station project in Gansu Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jia Zhao.
The traditional energy sector is one of the largest carbon emitters. Such solar thermal power plants are important measures for China to build a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system, and actively and steadily promote carbon peak and carbon neutrality.
CSP projects similar to Dunhuang will be built in Qinghai, Xinjiang and other places, and Liu Fuguo will often travel to the Gobi Desert in the northwest. However, he said that he must return to Inner Mongolia first during the Spring Festival this year to see his parents who he has not seen for three or four years.
After the snow, the clouds cleared, tens of thousands of mirrors began to work, and the heat absorption towers shone brightly. The CSP power station in the Gobi captures sunlight and delivers electricity to the country, and Liu Fuguo and Wu Wei's team also contributes their own light and heat to their posts.
Xinhua News Agency reporters Yuan Quan, Jia Zhao, Ren Yanxin.