URUMQI, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Rich in sunshine, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is significant in China's solar power generation.

 

Besides increasing the installation and grid connection of photovoltaic (PV) panels, the region is also improving these devices' production, usage, and management efficiency.

 

In Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, a PV bracket producer uses four production lines, which load raw materials, conduct weld connections, and do other procedures automatically.

 

According to Xu Luhui, head of the bracket company, automatic production can save energy consumption by about 50 percent, and the annual production capacity of PV brackets, including fixed and adjustable ones, can reach 150,000 tonnes.

 

Xu said the company is now developing and will soon launch a sun-tracking bracket to improve solar power generation efficiency. "The PV tracking system can track solar motion. Thus, PV panels can be adjusted to an optimized position to receive solar radiation," said Xu.

 

The tracking facility has already been applied to some solar panels at a PV power generation base in Xinjiang's Shihezi City.

 

"We conducted a controlled experiment and found that tracking brackets can increase the electricity generating capacity by about 7 percent, compared to ordinary ones," said Wang Runsheng, head of the base.

 

Recently, temperatures in Shihezi decreased to below minus 10 degrees Celsius in snowy weather, while some of the snow has already melted on some solar panels of the base.

 

"It is because we use bifacial solar panels. The back side of solar panels can absorb sunlight reflected from snowfields and the land," said Wang. He explained that when solar power converts to energy on the panels, heat is also generated, which melts the snow.

 

The base covers an area of more than 30,000 mu (about 2,000 hectares), so it is time-consuming to clear the snow manually. The bifacial panels can reduce snow cover and improve the efficiency of power generation in snowy days, according to Wang.

 

To tackle potential risks of panels, including short circuits, overturns by strong winds, and damage caused by wild animals, the base introduced a smart system that can collect power generation data in each module of the base in real time.

 

"If abnormal circumstances occur in a module, we can use drones to patrol and take infrared images or videos to locate the faulty PV panels," said Wang. He added that, compared to manual patrol, the system has advantages in vision and accuracy.

 

"Less than 10 people can do daily inspection and maintenance of the entire base," said Wang.

 

The base also has a power booster station and an electrochemical energy storage system. With a total investment of over 4.8 billion yuan (about 677.7 million U.S. dollars), the base has been fully connected to the grid recently.

 

According to Wang, the base can generate about 2.1 billion kWh of electricity from green energy annually, nearly 4.5 percent of Shihezi's total electricity output in 2022, saving 650,000 tonnes of standard coal.

 

Xinjiang's installed power capacity from new energy sources has surpassed 62 million kilowatts. Among them, the installed capacity of PV power exceeded 30.5 million kilowatts.