The 1-GW Phase II South Zone of the Zhongwei PV project, part of CHN Energy Longyuan Power's Ningxia Tengger New Energy Base in desert areas, the Gobi and other arid areas, has been successfully connected to the grid. This marks the full-capacity operation of the base's first 3-GW batch of photovoltaic projects.

The Ningxia Tengger New Energy Base is China’s first large-scale new energy project in desert areas, the Gobi and other arid areas to receive dual approval from the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration. It is also a key supporting project for the Ningxia-Hunan Ultra-High-Voltage Direct Current (UHVDC) power transmission channel. Located on the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert, the Zhongwei PV project covers an area of about 88,000 mu and consists of more than 6.4 million PV panels. The project was built in two 1-gigawatt phases. The first phase was connected to the grid in 2023, followed by the Phase II North Zone in 2024.

The project includes Ningxia’s largest energy storage station, the Zhongheng Longtu Energy Storage Station, with a total capacity of 295 MW/590 MWh. Once fully operational, the 3 GW PV project in Zhongwei will generate an average of 5.78 billion kWh annually, meeting the annual electricity demand of 4.8 million households.

During construction, the project adopted an innovative green energy + ecological restoration model. Through measures such as straw checkerboard sand fixation, grass seeding and shrub planting, vegetation coverage in the area increased from less than 0.5% to 20%, with some areas reaching 50%. This achieved a coordinated model of “power generation above, planting in-between and restoration below”, integrating clean energy development with ecological governance.