China’s Hebei Completes First Wind Farm Black-Start Test
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 (Bernama) -- Hebei Power Grid in north China has completed its first black-start test at a grid-forming wind farm, restarting the Liuqing Wind Farm’s 35-kilovolt collector line, which then ran stably for more than three hours, according to State Grid Hebei Electric Power Company Limited.
A "black start" is a power grid’s ability to re-establish voltage and restore supply using its own power sources without relying on the external grid after a large-scale blackout.
In a statement, the company said the test showed wind farms can start up on their own during grid faults and blackouts and provide local support, helping to restore power more quickly.
Conventional wind turbines are “grid-following” devices that need voltage support from the external grid. When the grid loses power, they shut down and must wait for other sources, such as hydropower and thermal power, to restart.
Grid-forming wind turbines paired with energy storage can establish voltage and frequency on their own, allowing them to start up during a complete blackout and gradually bring other equipment in the station back into operation.
During the test, energy storage equipment helped the turbines establish voltage and energise the collector line, with a single grid-forming turbine driving the restart of the entire wind farm.
Before the test, a technical team from the State Grid Hebei Electric Power Research Institute used a high-precision simulation model to check risks at key stages, including voltage establishment and grid connection.
Wind and solar capacity in the Hebei Southern Power Grid reached 59.23 million kilowatts by the end of September 2026, more than 61 per cent of the region’s total installed capacity.
The company said wind turbines have now been added to Hebei’s black-start resources, alongside existing centralised sources such as pumped-storage hydropower, providing a model that could be replicated in other parts of north China with high shares of renewable energy.
-- BERNAMA