The Gushanliang 500-kilovolt substation in Ordos, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region has completed its summer capacity expansion project, doubling its main transformer capacity to 4.8 million kilovolt-ampere (kVA).

The upgraded substation is now a key hub for integrating and transmitting renewable energy across the Inner Mongolia power grid, providing stronger support for large wind and solar bases in desert regions.

Since beginning operations in November 2023, Gushanliang Substation has served as a central hub for regional renewable energy. However, as installed capacity surged, bottlenecks emerged, with clean electricity sometimes unable to be fully delivered during peak demand periods.

To address this challenge, Inner Mongolia Power Group's UHV Supply Company launched the expansion in September, adding two 1.2 million kVA transformers and increasing the total from two to four. The upgrade significantly boosts the grid's capacity to integrate and transmit green power.

"After expansion, renewable integration has improved considerably," said project manager Hao Zhiping. "The station now connects to five renewable lines with a total installed capacity of 3.5 gigawatts. We have also reserved nine intervals for future solar projects and plan to support energy storage integration, enabling green power development on an even larger scale".