At the construction site of the Huadian Golmud Phase I 2×660MW coal-fired power project, activity is in full swing despite the lingering chill of early spring. In March, within the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture's Golmud City, the winds sweeping across the Gobi desert remain sharp and cold. As vehicles enter the Kunlun Economic Development Zone, a forest of steel structures emerges on the horizon—two 178-meter-high steel indirect air-cooling towers reaching for the sky. This is the location of the Qinghai Huadian Golmud Phase I project, a new landmark deep in the Gobi, growing rapidly with the spring breeze.
Inside the project site, tower cranes stand tall, machinery roars, transport vehicles come and go, and welding sparks flash between steel frames, all signaling a vigorous resumption of work. In the main plant, technicians carefully adjust turbine components, with massive rotors and high-pressure cylinders arranged in orderly rows. Workers, clad in uniforms and safety helmets, focus on welding pipes, calibrating parameters, and other precision tasks.
Civil construction is now in its final stages, transitioning fully to the installation phase. Unit 1 achieved a critical installation milestone in mid-March—the turbine cylinder closure. By the end of March, the boiler hydrostatic test was successfully completed. From the hydrostatic test to Unit 1's planned operation by the end of July, a series of key milestones remain, including the installation of major pipelines and oil system debugging, all of which are progressing intensively.
Sun Jiankai, director of the engineering management department at Huadian (Golmud) Energy Co., Ltd., pointed toward the distant boiler and explained that over 2,000 workers are simultaneously engaged across 11 project sections. As construction advances, civil engineering workers will gradually withdraw, making way for installation and commissioning personnel.
This project represents China's highest-altitude ultra-supercritical coal-fired generating unit currently under construction, with a total investment of approximately 6.2 billion yuan and a designed annual electricity generation capacity of 6 billion kWh. The construction of these two thermal power units is intended to lay a solid foundation for subsequent large-scale base projects. They are not only key projects under Qinghai Province's 14th Five-Year Plan but also the sole thermal power support source for the Haixi region.
Notably, related research based on the world's highest-altitude 660MW ultra-supercritical generating unit designed to burn high-alkali coal has overcome technical challenges related to high altitude, high-alkali coal combustion, and deep flexible peak shaving. This achievement has been included in the National Energy Administration's fifth list of major first-of-its-kind technological equipment in the energy sector, filling an industry gap and establishing a replicable "plateau clean coal power solution."
At nearly 3,000 meters above sea level, where oxygen levels are only about 70% of those at plains and winter temperatures can drop below -20°C, building a thermal power plant requires solutions beyond standard approaches. Just as a car loses power at high altitudes, a boiler also suffers from oxygen deficiency here, Sun Jiankai explained. To address this, the project utilizes the world's highest-altitude ultra-supercritical coal-fired indirect air-cooled units, with boilers custom-designed—while the unit capacity is 660MW, the boiler capacity must be enlarged to a level equivalent to 900MW to ensure the turbine receives sufficient steam output.
Larger equipment specifications increase construction complexity. After boiler components arrive on-site, assembly and welding must be completed outdoors, demanding high standards in welding techniques and construction organization. The lengthy winter shutdown period further tests the project timeline.
Smart management is evident throughout the construction site, functioning like a digital hub that monitors the site's pulse on screens, making safety and efficiency visible, tangible, and controllable. In the project monitoring room, a large screen displays real-time data—this is the "Smart Site Management Platform." Zhe Hao, the information specialist in the engineering management department, monitors site conditions in real time. All construction personnel information is stored in the system, including entry training, medical reports, and labor contracts. The system is integrated with access gates; individuals who haven't completed safety training or lack proper qualifications cannot even pass the first gate.
Surveillance cameras provide full video coverage, enabling not only real-time monitoring but also intelligent identification of violations such as failure to wear safety helmets or reflective vests. The system automatically captures images and uploads them to the platform, ensuring comprehensive control over personnel, equipment, and environment, thereby enhancing both efficiency and safety. Environmental data like wind speed and temperature update in real time on the screen. When wind speeds reach level 6 or higher, high-altitude work automatically triggers warnings, adapting well to Golmud's windy, sandy climate. Tasks that once required constant human supervision can now be managed via screen-based online inspections, complementing scheduled offline inspections.
Green development principles are integral to the project. Inside the enclosed coal yard, bucket-wheel stacker-reclaimers are being installed orderly, with coal conveyor bridges constructed simultaneously, ensuring dust-free operations. Environmental protection facilities such as desulfurization towers and electrostatic precipitators are already completed. Once operational, the plant will achieve full-process treatment for desulfurization, denitrification, and dust removal, with chimney emissions consisting primarily of water vapor. The indirect air-cooling towers use a "non-contact" cooling method where water and air do not mix, combined with urban reclaimed water recycling, significantly conserving water resources—a perfect fit for Golmud's arid conditions.
Modern thermal power plants are no longer the inefficient, polluting facilities of the past. This project will achieve ultra-clean emissions upon operation, truly enabling green power generation, stated Ma Baoyun, deputy director of the engineering management department, with evident pride. The plant's compact design is also noteworthy—the administrative building is only a few hundred meters from the coal yard, whereas in older plants built a decade ago, this distance often exceeded one kilometer. Compact design saves land and investment, and significantly shortens pipeline and coal conveyor lengths. Although it increases construction overlap and management complexity, the comprehensive benefits are clear.
As the project advances steadily, this high-altitude thermal power plant—integrating green, smart, and efficient features—will soon stand tall on Golmud's land. Once operational, it will provide stable and reliable power support for Qinghai's grid, promoting clean energy integration and optimizing the energy structure.
Though the spring breeze has arrived, the cold persists, yet the builders' efforts continue unabated. Ma Baoyun, a Qinghai native, reflected on working on thermal power projects outside the province for over a decade and the significance of returning to contribute to high-altitude power construction in his hometown. Watching a modern power plant rise from the Gobi desert not only supports local energy development but also fulfills professional aspirations. This spring, this plateau energy project, with a "sprint from the start" momentum, paints a moving picture of dedication across the highland landscape.
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