Behind the “Pure Green Power Town” of Minning: A Chain Reaction
New energy is a crucial pathway for China to achieve its “dual carbon” goals and establish a new energy system. By the end of 2024, the installed capacity of new energy in China is expected to surpass that of coal-fired power for the first time. However, the rapid development of new energy also reveals challenges such as dependence on weather conditions and unstable supply, which not only increase the pressure on energy consumption but also impact the safe and stable operation of the power grid.
As a result, ensuring a stable and continuous supply of new energy and promoting its sustainable development have become key to overcoming the bottlenecks in this sector. At the end of last year, major projects such as the energy storage power station and coordinated control system in the “Pure Green Power Town” of Minning Town, Yongning County, Ningxia, were completed on schedule, enabling 24-hour pure green electricity supply. This new energy storage solution replaces coal power, facilitating the coordinated development of energy generation, storage, transmission, and usage, serving as a model for addressing the current challenges in new energy development, and acting as a catalyst for rural revitalization in Minning Town, triggering a “chain reaction.”
A New Power System Achieving 24-Hour Pure Green Electricity Supply
Ningxia boasts unique conditions for new energy development. Over the past 15 years, the installed capacity of new energy in Ningxia has increased from 850,000 kilowatts in 2010 to over 41 million kilowatts by the end of 2024. Against this backdrop, the “Pure Green Power Town” in Minning Town has implemented a series of technological innovations to achieve 24-hour pure green electricity supply, effectively compensating for the inherent instability of new energy supply. It is expected to add 215 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity consumption annually, saving over 26,400 tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 73,200 tons.
“We specifically developed a source-network-load-storage control system. This system, by deploying intelligent monitoring and control devices at the dispatch center, hub substations, new energy stations, and storage power stations, constructed a dual-layer control architecture for energy management,” said Xu Yong, Secretary of the Party Committee of State Grid Yinchuan Power Supply Company. “With this system, during peak solar hours, the new energy storage retains surplus energy, and during the night, wind energy and storage cooperate to achieve 24-hour green electricity supply.”
Stabilizing New Energy Supply
New energy supply is significantly affected by external environmental factors, leading to substantial fluctuations. The new energy storage serves as the “storage” in the source-network-load-storage model, stabilizing new energy supply through peak shaving and valley filling. This is a vital component of the new power system and the “Pure Green Power Town.” It enhances the economic efficiency of new energy by “storing excess energy to compensate for shortages” and can seamlessly switch between grid-connected and off-grid operations. In case of disruptions in the connection lines between Minning Town’s local grid and the higher-level grid, it can operate independently, minimizing the adverse effects of disconnection on new energy consumption and ensuring reliable power supply and regional energy security.
Li Hongtao, General Manager of Datang Yongning New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., explained that the two newly constructed energy storage stations in Minning Town, each with a capacity of 100 megawatt-hours/200 megawatt-hours, function like super-large “power banks,” capable of storing 400,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. With an 85% discharge efficiency, once fully charged, they can supply 340,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, compensating for nighttime lack of sunlight and insufficient wind power output.
Virtual Power Plants and Their Role
Virtual power plants are also an important part of the new power system. Unlike traditional power plants, virtual power plants leverage advanced technologies like digitization and intelligence to aggregate, coordinate, and optimize adjustable loads, distributed power sources, and storage resources within a certain area, creating a system capable of responding to grid operational adjustments.
Ningxia’s virtual power plant has one of the leading adjustable capabilities in the country. Some electricity-consuming enterprises act as virtual power plants, adjusting their electricity loads in response to fluctuations in new energy generation, thereby enhancing the utilization of new energy while also receiving compensation—creating a win-win situation. By the end of last year, Ningxia’s virtual power plant management platform had integrated ten virtual power plants, aggregating 20 types of adjustable loads, including electric vehicle charging stations, building air conditioning systems, and ferroalloy enterprises, with a total capacity of over 3.79 million kilowatts, resulting in approximately 1 million yuan in profits for the virtual power plant operators. Following the operation of the “Pure Green Power Town,” the successful experiences of Ningxia’s virtual power plants will also support the balance of green electricity supply and demand in Minning Town and attract relevant enterprises to settle there.
Effectively Addressing New Energy Development Challenges
Currently, China’s new energy development faces challenges such as substantial consumption pressure and low enthusiasm for new energy storage development. The “Pure Green Power Town” explores new pathways for the development of new energy systems, providing valuable insights for overcoming these difficulties.
**Alleviating the challenges of new energy consumption.** In 2023, new installed renewable energy generation capacity in China exceeded half of the global total, with the cumulative installed capacity accounting for nearly 40% of the global share, placing significant pressure on energy consumption. In Ningxia, for instance, by the end of 2024, the installed capacity of new energy is expected to exceed 41 million kilowatts, with solar power accounting for over 60%. The rapid development of solar power, accompanied by significant fluctuations in generation, has increased pressure on new energy consumption.
He Xing’an, a specialist in the development and planning department of State Grid Yinchuan Power Supply Company, stated, “The ‘Pure Green Power Town’ explores the formulation of collaborative operational strategies for source-network-load-storage based on a 100% new energy proportion, which can enhance the green electricity consumption proportion in the town while further increasing the utilization rate of new energy. Engineering practices will help resolve the supply-demand balance issues of high penetration new energy, creating replicable and promotable new experiences in the construction of new power systems.”
**Stimulating enthusiasm for the development of new energy storage.** New energy storage plays a crucial role in promoting new energy consumption and ensuring stable power supply. Currently, factors such as unstable policies and rapid cost reductions have led to a situation where “those who enter first incur greater losses,” which has somewhat dampened the enthusiasm for industrial development. Zeng Bingjie, General Manager of Ningxia Mingyi Green Energy Integrated Energy Service Co., Ltd., noted that China’s rapid development of new energy cannot rely solely on coal power for peak shaving, indicating a broad prospect for new energy storage development. The “Pure Green Power Town” and the construction of a new power system further increase the application scenarios for new energy storage, driving industry development. Presently, grid-connected storage is a new concept with high costs, but it represents the trend of industrial development. In the future, as it is applied on a larger scale, costs will continue to decrease, enhancing China’s technological advantages in new energy storage.
**Resolving the challenge of physical traceability of green electricity.** Currently, green electricity and coal power are mixed in the grid, making it difficult to achieve physical traceability of green electricity, which affects the recognition of green certificates in China. The “Pure Green Power Town,” by supplying green electricity around the clock, achieves physical traceability of green electricity, effectively resolving related issues and potentially increasing the “value” of green electricity and green certificates in China.
Experts interviewed stated that after the operation of the “Pure Green Power Town,” the green electricity used by enterprises in Minning Town can be traced, helping to enhance the benefits of related enterprises.
A Catalyst for Rural Revitalization
For over 20 years, with the support of collaborative efforts in Minning, the area has transformed from a “dry beach” into a “golden beach.” In recent years, new energy has further greened Minning Town’s formerly barren land, and the advantages brought by the “Pure Green Power Town” have become a catalyst for rural revitalization.
“The ‘Pure Green Power Town’ accelerates the transformation of Minning Town towards a clean, low-carbon development and a shift to green production and lifestyle. It empowers the high-quality development of industries such as smart manufacturing, deep processing of agricultural products, and facility agriculture in the Minning Industrial Park, injecting new momentum into the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas in Minning Town,” said Shi Jia, Secretary of the Party Committee of Minning Town.
Being able to earn money right at home is the simplest wish of the relocated residents in Minning Town. The “Pure Green Power Town” employs a model of “village collective + enterprise + farmers,” and a large-scale photovoltaic facility has been built in Yuanglong Village, providing rooftop solar power installations for over 1,600 relocated households. The village collective earns over 2 million yuan annually, while each relocated household receives a rooftop rental fee.
Furthermore, the industrial and commercial sectors have been a shortcoming for the development of Minning Town and poverty alleviation regions. The “Pure Green Power Town” benefits industries with high demand for green electricity, bringing new opportunities and advantages for industrial and commercial development in Minning Town.
Ningxia Yinghai Tianchen Building Materials Co., Ltd., located in Minning Town, primarily produces cement and cement clinker. In the first eleven months of 2024, the company’s electricity consumption exceeded 36 million kilowatt-hours, with a total electricity bill of over 19 million yuan. After the operation of the “Pure Green Power Town,” according to Ningxia’s latest policy, if users fully purchase and use green electricity through bilateral trading mechanisms, electricity costs could potentially decrease by up to 12%. The company’s representative stated that green electricity has triggered a transformation across the entire industry; it not only reduces electricity costs for enterprises but fundamentally addresses the issue of high carbon emissions associated with heavy energy consumption in the industry.
Minning Town is rich in “wind and solar” resources, providing the conditions for attracting more enterprises with high demand for green electricity. Hou Ziqiang, Director of the Development and Reform Commission of Yinchuan City, Ningxia, pointed out that currently, Minning Town has an installed capacity of around 200,000 kilowatts, generating approximately 300 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, which exceeds the local annual electricity consumption of around 150 million kilowatt-hours. Additionally, the region has abundant new energy resources, with future expansion potential to around 1 million kilowatts, converting Minning Town’s “wind and solar” resources into an inexhaustible driving force for rural revitalization.
