As reported by CCTV News, on September 26th, the world's largest piece of core equipment for high-altitude wind power generation—a colossal 5,000-square-meter wind-generating parachute—was dispatched from Beijing to Inner Mongolia for on-site testing. This event signifies the official commencement of the on-site flight test phase for China's inaugural national key R&D project in the high-altitude wind energy domain, namely "Key Technologies and Equipment for Large-Scale Umbrella-Ladder Land-Based High-Altitude Wind Power Generation."

Boasting an expansive area of 5,000 square meters, equivalent to the size of 12 standard basketball courts, this wind-generating parachute is designed to harness wind energy at altitudes spanning from 500 to 5,000 meters and subsequently power ground-based electricity generation equipment. Luo Bixiong, the Chief Scientist at China Energy Engineering Group, highlighted that high-altitude wind power presents a remarkable 95% reduction in land usage and a 90% decrease in steel consumption when compared to traditional onshore wind power solutions. Moreover, it slashes the cost per kilowatt-hour by 30%, while offering substantial benefits in terms of scalability and commercial viability.

This test marks a significant leap forward for China in the realm of high-altitude wind power generation, scaling up from the kilowatt to the megawatt level, and elevating the wind energy capture height from 1,000 meters to an impressive 3,000 meters, or even reaching up to 5,000 meters. Looking ahead, this breakthrough has the potential to spur the growth of interconnected industries such as aviation, energy, and environmental protection.