Serving as a “Health Examiner” for New Energy Equipment

Being a “health examiner” for new energy equipment may sound novel, but it’s a job I’ve been doing for more than a decade.

The power grid is like the human body. When a large influx of new energy is integrated—whose output fluctuates sharply—it can easily cause “unstable blood pressure” or “arrhythmia,” threatening the grid’s secure operation. As one of China’s key energy hubs and a major sending end in the West-to-East power transmission program, Ningxia has reached a new energy installed capacity of 49.306 million kilowatts. Conducting diagnostics and performance assessments on this scale is no easy task.

Veteran colleagues often recall how, over ten years ago, we didn’t even have a complete set of testing equipment. The types of new energy generators in our area varied greatly, and their operating characteristics were inconsistent. There was no mature or unified evaluation standard. We had to stake out project sites, using basic waveform recorders to log voltage fluctuations from wind turbines. We studied international standards and adapted them to Ningxia's grid conditions to gradually establish local technical norms—all to carry out reliable “checkups” for new energy units.

Today, we’ve built a standardized on-site testing and evaluation system, achieving full coverage of new energy unit verification in Ningxia. Even more exciting, we developed our own diagnostic tools: when a domestically produced device captured the complete waveform of a wind turbine's fault ride-through (FRT) for the first time, the whole team celebrated for days.

As Ningxia’s installed new energy capacity continues to grow, our work has expanded from testing individual units to providing station-level comprehensive diagnostics, with much greater technical complexity. Once, during an inspection of a solar PV plant, we discovered that one generation unit didn’t meet voltage ride-through requirements. The site staff were puzzled: “The equipment is new and EU-certified—why the need for modifications?” After thorough explanation, we brought test reports and parameters to the lab and conducted simulations using similar equipment. The tests revealed the device wasn’t operating as expected. The staff were finally convinced. Through repeated data-driven analysis and experimental validation, it has become common practice that no new energy unit is connected to the grid without passing a full diagnostic check.

For every 1% increase in the proportion of new energy, the complexity of grid management increases exponentially. In 2024, we established a platform to validate forecasting models for new energy output, conducting diagnostics for 20 power stations and helping them improve model performance—ensuring electricity is not only generated, but generated stably.

In the first half of this year, we also helped over 30 new energy and energy storage projects achieve high-standard grid integration. Looking ahead, I will lead my team in further advancing evaluation technologies for grid-connected performance—from individual units to full station clusters—ensuring a solid safeguard as we enter the era of green electricity.

(Ren Yong, Deputy Director of the New Energy Technology Research Institute, State Grid Ningxia Electric Power Research Institute)