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In 2023, Goldwind successfully completed the installation of the world's first 185m hybrid tower prototype. After over a year of stable operation, this tower has now been deployed in over 100 units across five provinces, including Heilongjiang, Henan, and Shanxi, providing strong support for wind resource development in ultra-low wind speed regions.

Hybrid towers represent an innovative steel-concrete structure that breaks through the physical limitations of traditional steel towers, enabling the deployment of larger-capacity turbines at greater heights. Their core value lies in cross-disciplinary innovation, integrating wind resource analysis, material science, structural simulation, and production processes to deliver turbines with superior reliability, economic performance, and environmental adaptability. The efficient and stable application of hybrid towers requires not just an upgrade in materials, but also an end-to-end integrated solution covering R&D, manufacturing, installation, and O&M.

Through a fusion of process innovation and digital technologies, Goldwind has developed a comprehensive hybrid tower delivery system. By optimizing processes, leveraging digital empowerment, and improving structural designs, Goldwind has successfully delivered 185m hybrid towers in extreme cold regions and complex mountainous terrains.

Process Innovation, Breaking the Ultra-Low Temperature Barrier

The Boli Wind Power Project features a total capacity of 250MW and 37 units of GWH204-6.25MW-HH185m hybrid towers. It is located in a region where winter temperatures can drop below -30°C. Traditional materials are prone to abnormal condensation at temperatures below -15°C, becoming a major obstacle to installation operations.

To address this challenge, the Goldwind team developed a low-temperature epoxy adhesive through innovative R&D. After 127 comparative tests and 13 rounds of formulation iterations, they successfully resolved the issue of rapid viscosity increase in epoxy adhesives under low-temperature conditions. Through the combined use of preheating insulation and heat tracing, Goldwind significantly improved material temperature stability and mixing uniformity, effectively resolving the issue of delayed strength gain in epoxy adhesives under extreme cold. This ensured the adhesive reliably reached full design strength within seven days.

Under prolonged ultra-low temperature conditions, the optimized process enabled a synergistic improvement in material performance and construction efficiency. As a result, all 37 turbine installations were completed 30 days ahead of schedule, setting a new benchmark for hybrid tower installation at -25°C in northeast China. Calculations show that the process optimization saved the Boli Project more than RMB 3 million in winter construction expenses and cut carbon emissions by about 30% relative to conventional steel tower solutions.

Digital Empowerment, Accelerating Project Delivery

The Qixian Project in Kaifeng City is Henan Province's first large-scale deployment of 185m hybrid towers, featuring a total installed capacity of 200MW with 40 units of GWH191-5.0MW-HH185m turbines. The project was launched in September 2024, with the client expecting full delivery by the end of the year, posing a significant challenge to the delivery efficiency of the hybrid towers.

Behind this efficient delivery lies Goldwind's strategic commitment to "full-lifecycle digital management". The project leveraged Goldwind's proprietary digital management system for precast component production, enabling comprehensive digital oversight, visualized control, traceable quality management, and AI-powered defect detection throughout the manufacturing process. These capabilities significantly enhanced the precision and sophistication of production workflows and quality control, allowing a single hybrid tower production line to exceed a monthly capacity of 20 units. By optimally allocating transportation resources, monitoring logistics in real time, and optimizing delivery routes, the project achieved a monthly transport volume of 21 tower sets, with over 55 segments delivered per day. This resulted in a 20% increase in delivery efficiency compared to traditional methods, enabling the completion of production and delivery of 40 hybrid towers within just three months, fully meeting the client's delivery expectations.

Bigger Platform, Stronger Guarantee

In recent years, the trend toward larger wind turbines has accelerated, with onshore rotor diameters expanding to 221 to 230 meters and rated power increasing to above 10MW. This scale-up has led to a significant rise in turbine loads, particularly due to larger rotors and reduced rotor speeds, placing stricter demands on tower resonance avoidance, fatigue resistance, structural stability, and load-bearing capacity.

To better accommodate the trend of wind turbine scaling, Goldwind has developed a new generation of hybrid tower design featuring large-diameter segment structures, increasing the segment diameter from 9.05 meters to 10.58 meters. This innovation enhanced load-bearing capacity by 22.1%, further ensuring the operational safety and structural stability of the turbines.

The Lingchuan Wind Power Project in Jincheng, Shanxi Province is located in the Taihang Mountains at an altitude of over 1,600 meters, where rugged terrain and challenging road conditions present significant construction difficulties. The project team utilized Goldwind's self-developed Tianshan 3.0 Platform to overcome challenges such as difficult mountain road transportation and multi-lift points for large-diameter tower segments, ensuring the successful completion of project delivery. Compared to previous versions, the Tianshan 3.0 features a comprehensive upgrade in safety performance, covering 14 safety aspects including structural strength, secure anchoring points, and maximum load warnings. These enhancements have significantly improved the safety and reliability of project execution, providing all-round protection for on-site operations. The platform has been awarded CE mark by Det Norske Veritas (DNV), providing authoritative validation of its safety performance and serving as a "passport" for the 185m hybrid tower to enter international markets.

The successful large-scale delivery of Goldwind's 185m hybrid tower reflects broad market recognition of the product. It also actively promotes the efficient utilization of wind resources, significantly enhances power generation capacity, and delivers improved investment returns for customers. Grid connection data from the world's first 185m hybrid tower prototype shows that it generated 8.5% more electricity annually than a 160m hybrid tower at the same project site, translating to an additional RMB 300,000 in revenue per year and a 54% increase in marginal investment return.

Technological innovation remains the engine of high-quality development in the wind power industry. Goldwind will continue to drive hybrid tower advancement, launch innovation-led and quality-driven products, expand wind energy's application scope, and deliver more benchmark hybrid tower projects, building new frontiers for green power around the world.