Construction is progressing on a national demonstration project in northern China designed to tackle one of the green energy transition’s greatest hurdles: grid instability caused by high levels of renewable power penetration.
Civil works are now progressing on schedule at the 220 kV step-up substation for the Zhangbei grid-forming renewable energy project in Hebei Province. Developed by State Grid Jibei Zhangjiakou Wind-Solar-Storage New Energy Co., Ltd., the site acts as a wind, solar, and energy storage hub.
The International Energy Agency forecasts global renewable capacity will nearly double by 2030. However, standard inverter-based clean energy reduces grid inertia, making voltage and frequency regulation increasingly difficult for global operators.
Unlike traditional setups that merely follow the grid, grid-forming technology allows renewable and storage resources to actively mimic the stable mechanical inertia of old coal or gas-fired stations, bolstering the network against blackouts.
Substation engineering design lead Yin Zhang, who brings a decade of experience from international grid upgrades in South Africa and South Sudan, said his team focused on creating a practical, scalable blueprint.
“A solution only matters if it works in the real world,” Zhang said.
“Working across different countries showed me how much grid standards, environmental constraints, and operational systems can vary.
“For this project, we focused from the beginning on making the design practical, scalable, and replicable; embedding grid-forming requirements into every detail of the substation.”
To fast-track the build and slash costs, the project seamlessly retrofits existing energy storage infrastructure. This clever approach offers a commercial model for upgrading older clean energy sites globally that now require modernisation.
The design also features robust structural adaptations and specialised low-temperature equipment to guarantee reliable operation throughout Zhangbei’s infamously harsh winter climate.
The project will next move into equipment installation and system commissioning, a phase that will test how effectively grid-forming technologies can be deployed at scale.