China Datang Corp. has officially commissioned a 500 MW solar plant in Zhongwei, Ningxia, describing it as the country’s first large-scale green power project designed to directly supply a data center cluster under a coordinated “computing–electricity coordination” model. The project entered formal operation on May 2, following full-capacity grid connection and the start of green power direct supply on Feb. 5.
The solar plant forms part of Datang’s broader 2 GW first-phase build-out for the Zhongwei Cloud Base, with total planned investment of around CNY 8.7 billion ($1.27 billion). Phase one combines the 500 MW PV project with a 1.5 GW wind farm and energy storage. The wind component is still under construction and is scheduled for full-capacity grid connection in September 2026. A second phase is also planned, which would expand the total project scale to 4.6 GW and bring total investment to nearly CNY 20 billion.
What makes the project unusual is its delivery model. According to Datang and Chinese state media, it uses a dual-track supply structure combining physical direct supply with bilateral power market trading. For new data center load, four dedicated 110 kV transmission lines deliver green electricity directly to computing facilities, rather than routing it through the public grid. For additional demand, electricity is sourced via bilateral market transactions. In practice, solar output is prioritized during daytime hours, while wind generation is expected to cover demand when solar output declines, supported by energy storage.
The operating figures are also significant. The newly commissioned 500 MW PV plant is expected to generate around 970 GWh annually, covering roughly 50% of the Zhongwei Cloud Base’s electricity demand. Once phase one is fully operational in September, total annual generation is expected to reach 4.3 TWh, which is more than sufficient to meet the cloud base’s projected annual consumption of 2.29 TWh, the company said.
Beyond the project itself, Zhongwei is positioned within China’s national computing hubs under the “East Data, West Computing” strategy, which aims to shift data center and AI workloads toward western regions with stronger renewable energy resources.
The Datang project is therefore being viewed as a real-world test of whether large-scale digital loads can be directly matched with desert-based wind and solar generation, rather than relying primarily on conventional grid supply. It moves “green electricity for data centers” from a certificate- or trading-based approach toward a more physical infrastructure model, with dedicated transmission lines, co-located renewables, and dispatch strategies aligned with computing demand.
If replicable, the model could serve as a template for reducing both the carbon intensity and operating costs of China’s future data center expansion.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.