China Mobile Powers Zhongwei Data Center With 80% Solar Energy as 1.5-GW Wind Farm Nears
Updated
Updated · China.org · Aug 19
China Mobile Powers Zhongwei Data Center With 80% Solar Energy as 1.5-GW Wind Farm Nears
3 articles · Updated · China.org · Aug 19
Summary
May marked the start of direct solar supply to a China Mobile data facility in Zhongwei, with green power now providing more than 80% of its electricity for AI training, inference and other computing tasks.
A 500-megawatt solar farm on the edge of the Tengger Desert feeds the site through nearby transmission lines, cutting losses and helping lower power costs that typically make up 60% to 70% of data-center operating expenses.
A 1.5-gigawatt wind farm under construction 40 kilometers south is due to connect in September, adding nighttime generation so the Zhongwei cluster can move toward round-the-clock renewable supply.
Once fully operational, the solar and wind projects are expected to cover about 2.29 billion kilowatt-hours of annual demand from Zhongwei's existing and planned data-center cluster, which already includes 10 large parks.
The buildout fits China's 'East Data, West Computing' strategy and its requirement that newly built data centers in major computing hubs use at least 80% green power.