Across the vast land of China, major engineering projects that carry the national energy strategy and support the "dual carbon" goals are advancing in full swing. With wisdom and sweat, the builders are sprinting at full speed in their respective posts, writing a magnificent movement of energy construction in the new era with roaring machinery and solid footprints. From the ultra-high-voltage hubs of the "West-East Power Transmission" to the "energy lighthouses" on the Gobi Desert, from the windmill forests of the northern plains to the "energy banks" deep in the grasslands, scrolls of green development are unfolding slowly.

Dongping Converter Station: Forging a Strong Heart for "West-East Power Transmission"

On the grand map of China's "West-East Power Transmission" energy strategy, the ±800kV converter station located in Dongping County, Tai'an City, Shandong Province, shines like a brilliant pearl, bearing the important mission of balancing energy distribution between the east and west and promoting coordinated regional economic development. Its civil works Package B was successfully completed in early May 2025, becoming a key milestone in the construction process of the project. This energy hub will transform into a powerful "power converter," transmitting more than 40 billion kWh of clean electricity to the eastern region each year, equivalent to reducing the burning of 12 million tons of standard coal and cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 30 million tons. It will inject strong momentum into the realization of the "dual carbon" goals and play an irreplaceable role in promoting China's green energy transition and sustainable development.

The construction team of Hebei Engineering Company shoulders the heavy responsibility of constructing core structures and buildings such as the Pole 1 high-end valve hall in the converter area, the Pole 1 auxiliary control building, the AC area, the DC field, and the station front area. These buildings are the "heart" and "brain" for the converter station to achieve power conversion and control, placing extremely stringent demands on construction technology, management level, and team collaboration. At the project kickoff meeting, the project manager said with firm eyes: "Brothers, the Dongping Converter Station is a key node of the 'West-East Power Transmission,' and our Package B project is even more important. We must demonstrate the style of Hebei Engineering!" "No matter how hard the bone is, we will gnaw it down!" Everyone's response with clenched fists ignited the fighting spirit to overcome difficulties.

This converter station, embodying the wisdom and sweat of countless builders, not only lays a solid foundation for the "West-East Power Transmission" strategy but also greatly enhances Hebei Engineering Company's technical strength and brand reputation in the field of ultra-high-voltage converter station construction.

Fukang Solar Thermal: A "Steel Sunflower" Blooming on the Gobi Desert

As Hebei Engineering Company's first solar thermal project, the 100,000-kilowatt solar thermal project of the Luneng Fukang City Multi-Energy Complementary Project has now entered the construction sprint stage. At the project site, a 210-meter-high heat absorption tower stands majestically on the Gobi Desert. Below the tower, the 580,000-square-meter mirror field has begun to take shape, and workers are tirelessly installing mirrors continuously delivered from the automatic assembly workshop. The 7,575 heliostats already installed are like giant "steel sunflowers," chasing the blazing sun at precise angles in a spectacular scene. This "energy lighthouse," equipped with a cutting-edge heat storage system, is about to be commissioned and will help Fukang City build a new integrated energy pattern of "wind, solar, thermal, and storage."

"At present, more than 700 construction workers at the project site are working around the clock, advancing at an average installation speed of 100 heliostats per day. Heliostat installation has reached 50% of the total, and the overall project is scheduled to be completed by the end of October," introduced Wang Zhaofei, the project execution manager. As a million-kilowatt-level desert treatment project, this project plans to build a 900,000-kilowatt photovoltaic power generation project and a 100,000-kilowatt solar thermal power generation project through the "supporting energy storage advancement path" model. After completion, the project will have an average annual on-grid electricity output of 1.675 billion kWh, save 510,000 tons of standard coal per year, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.31 million tons, with significant energy-saving and carbon-reduction benefits. More critically, relying on molten salt heat storage technology, it will achieve 24-hour uninterrupted power generation, greatly improving the stability and reliability of energy supply and injecting green vitality into the desert.

Sonid Energy Storage: The "Energy Bank" Deep in the Grasslands Sets Sail

On the Inner Mongolia Plateau, strong winds sweep across the boundless wilderness. At the site of the Hebei Construction Investment Sonid Left Banner Compressed Air Energy Storage Project, colored flags flutter, machinery stands in formation, and builders in uniform work clothes are full of energy. As the stirring music reaches its climax, salute cannons roar, colored smoke rises into the sky, and applause thunders across the site. "Start construction!" A sonorous and powerful command resounds across the grasslands, and the bucket of the first excavator steadily and forcefully breaks the fertile soil, marking the official launch of this innovative energy storage project.

The project is located in Sarulatala Gacha, Mandulatu Town, Sonid Left Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and plans to build a 100MW/400MWh new-type non-supplementary-fired compressed air energy storage power station. After completion, the project will significantly enhance the peak-shaving capacity of the Western Inner Mongolia power grid and, through its 400MWh energy storage capacity, flexibly respond to load changes, becoming the "ballast stone" of grid stability. The project adopts advanced non-supplementary-fired technology and is equipped with a 60,000-cubic-meter underground gas storage reservoir, which can effectively absorb surplus wind and photovoltaic curtailment in the surrounding area, and is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 420,000 tons per year. As the first grid-side independent energy storage project in the northern wind-sand region, it is committed to creating a benchmark example for the development of new-type energy storage in Inner Mongolia through multi-dimensional synergy of technology, ecology, and economy, opening a new path for grassland energy transition.

From the land of Qilu to the Gobi Desert of the northwest, from the Songnen Plain to the grasslands north of the Great Wall, the key project department of Hebei Engineering Company runs hard on the broad track of energy construction with innovation as its engine and collaboration as its wings. As the powerful current of the Dongping Converter Station surges eastward, as the Fukang heliostat array precisely tracks the light and concentrates energy, as the Zhenlai windmill forest dances vigorously on the plain, and as the Sonid "energy bank" gathers momentum deep underground, these modern energy projects forged from steel and iron and embodying the painstaking efforts and wisdom of countless builders are continuously releasing surging green momentum. They not only uphold a beautiful energy future that is clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient, but also, with solid steps, drive the realization of the national "dual carbon" strategic goals and write the most impassioned and vivid chapter of progress for the energy revolution of the new era. The fruits of golden autumn are being nourished by the sweat of strivers; the pulse of energy will grow stronger with the footprints of the builders.