There is a group of "Chasers of Light" here, with an altitude of 4600 meters. Project | Kola | Altitude
On June 25th, the Kela Photovoltaic Power Station, the first phase of the water and solar complementary project of the two river mouth hydropower stations in the Yalong River Basin, was put into operation for power generation. This is the world's largest and highest altitude water solar complementary power station. The first phase of the power station has an installed capacity of 1 million kilowatts and an average annual power generation of 2 billion kilowatt hours, which can meet the annual electricity demand of 700000 households. At the same time, it can save over 600000 tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 1.6 million tons per year.
The highest elevation of the power station site is 4600 meters, with an area equivalent to 2500 standard football fields. The steel used for photovoltaic brackets is nearly 50000 tons, and more than 10 technical difficulties have been overcome, creating a precedent for large-scale photovoltaic projects to be continuously constructed in high-altitude and cold regions in winter.
Kola is located in Yajiang County, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. This is a place very close to the light, as if you can reach out and touch the sun. A group of people embarked on a arduous journey of chasing light here - building the Kola photovoltaic power station.
Take the initiative to offer your support
"I want to go to Kola!" In August 2022, Xiao Li, who had just completed his job rotation, expressed his idea.
"The Kola photovoltaic project has a very high altitude and very difficult conditions. Are you mentally prepared?" asked the office director Yang Yong.
"When I went to Xizang to build Dagu Hydropower Station in 2019, I was worried that I could not stand it. I regretted not going there. This time I didn't want to miss the opportunity again!" Xiao Li answered firmly.
From the urban area of Chengdu, follow the 318 National Highway all the way west into the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The bus is bumpy all the way, and after reaching the transfer station in Yajiang County, continue to move forward until it enters a fork in the way. Then, walk dozens of kilometers of village roads and a few kilometers of self built roads. After 12 hours, finally reach the temporary project department.
The temporary project department is a rented Tibetan residential building, with five or six colleagues working and eating together in one room. Xiao Li has just taken over office work and has not been idle for a moment. He follows the department head from morning to night, with his left hand using an electric drill and his right hand using a hammer. Together, he helps assemble office desks, chairs, beds, curtains, and other items. The office computer and cafeteria facilities are also gradually being supplemented and improved.
If the heavy metals in the water source of the project department's location exceed the standard, they will go more than 140 kilometers to pull buckets of water; If there is no vegetable supply, drive to the nearby county to buy; Worried about the health of employees, they also specialize in purchasing military coats, cotton hats, and high resistance drugs. After more than a month, my colleagues finally had a new office building and dormitory, and had clean and delicious meals. The cold Kola felt a slight warmth.
Xiao Li, who has never had chilblains before, developed severe frostbite on his hands in just a few days at Kola. However, watching his hardworking brothers eat hot dishes still made him feel happy about this sense of achievement.
"Chilblains are nothing, at least I don't have altitude sickness. The brothers who work in the mountains are truly admirable and heartbreaking. I used to feel that I couldn't stand such high altitudes and couldn't work in new fields, but the most fearless thing for young people is to try. As long as they dare to try, there will definitely be rewards!" Xiao Li sighed.
Facing challenges head-on
Li Ning, as the "professional certificate expert" of the Kola Photovoltaic Project, has been working for more than ten years and has already obtained qualifications such as registered surveying and mapping engineer, first-class construction engineer, municipal public engineering, and engineering surveyor. He is highly admired by colleagues, but it is also his first time working as a chief engineer. Being responsible for the technical, quality, and construction management of the entire project is undoubtedly a significant challenge for him.
He tried his best to sink down, but apart from the meeting time, his presence was hardly visible in the office. Whenever asked, he is told that he is at the construction site.
Once, due to weather conditions, the concrete pouring at the booster station continued until evening. And Kola has strong winds every day, and it starts snowing in October. If the concrete does not solidify during the day, it will freeze at night, resulting in quality problems. How to solve it? Li Ning took the team from the project department, carrying cotton quilts, dust-proof cloth, and electric heaters to keep the concrete warm. They waited until the concrete had completely solidified before returning, and by then it was already daylight.
"My master always instructs me to be rigorous and meticulous in my technical work, and not to show any carelessness. He always participates throughout the technical briefing. If there are any parts that I haven't fully explained during the briefing, he will immediately point them out until the construction team fully understands them," said Li Ning's apprentice Xiao Ma.
At the beginning, he bears a heavy burden, yet he does not mess around at all. From the installation of a pile or component to the planning of the entire project, Li Ning participated throughout the entire process. It is precisely because the "leader" has a practical, rigorous, and pragmatic work attitude that the project quality and progress have been highly recognized by the owner and supervisor.
hard-won
In early September 2022, after receiving the notification of winning the bid for the Phase II project of Kola Photovoltaic, Li Jian, who was serving as the project leader for the first time, fully made safety and logistical arrangements and led the team to enter the site. They searched for workers with experience in high-altitude and photovoltaic work from all over the country, actively overcoming high altitude hypoxia and heavy storms and snow, and fully promoting project construction.
On September 23 of the same year, the construction of Section II of the Kola Phase I photovoltaic project began smoothly.
"Congratulations on winning the first prize in this month's evaluation for the Phase II photovoltaic project of Kola. Please come on stage to receive the award!" At the evaluation work meeting in February 2023, the owner solemnly announced.
This honor is hard won. Due to the impact of the epidemic and extreme weather in the early stage, in order to fulfill the contract as scheduled in June 2023, the project department has decided to continue construction during the Spring Festival period, while increasing investment in personnel and equipment. A total of more than 300 people still stick to the front line during the Spring Festival period.
"As the project leader for the first time, and having never been involved in the photovoltaic industry before, I deeply feel the responsibility. But I am confident that I can fulfill the contract as scheduled in June this year and achieve the goal of grid connected power generation!" Li Jian said at the podium at the time.
Nowadays, vows have become a reality.
