Recently, the photovoltaic power station upgrading and renovation project in Yuye Town, Cenling County, Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang, contracted by Zonergy, was successfully completed and passed acceptance. Covering Qingfeng and Taoyuan villages, the project adopts the independently developed sodium-ion battery energy storage technology of Zonergy to comprehensively upgrade the existing photovoltaic power generation, energy storage and power distribution systems, delivering more stable and reliable power supply for nearly 300 local households.
From merely two hours of power supply at night in the past to round-the-clock power access today, this energy renovation in remote villages of Xinjiang is not only a technical upgrade of the PV-storage system, but also another vivid practice of Zonergy improving livelihood power supply and boosting rural development through sodium-ion technological innovation.
Comprehensive upgrade of PV-storage system with 2.3 MWh sodium-ion energy storage
The two villages with the stations are located in remote areas and have long relied on off-grid PV-storage systems to guarantee power supply for residents’ daily livelihoods. In recent years, affected by equipment aging, declining photovoltaic power generation efficiency and performance degradation of lead-acid batteries, the original system can hardly meet residents’ growing power demand. Nighttime power outages occurred frequently, especially in cold winters with insufficient sunlight or successive rainy and overcast days.
This upgrading project benefits nearly 300 households in the two villages. It has a total installed photovoltaic capacity of 500 kW and a total energy storage capacity of 2.3 MWh, all equipped with the independently developed sodium-ion battery energy storage systems of Zonergy.
According to Liu Yandong, manager of the project, the construction team mobilized to the site on August 17, finished construction at the end of September, completed commissioning and energization on October 7, and the project recently passed acceptance smoothly. The upgraded system greatly increases energy storage capacity and power supply reliability. It can satisfy residents’ basic power demand for four days even under sunless conditions.
▲ Construction in progress
Villagers: Free use of household appliances; 24-hour response for operations and maintenance (O&M)
Tuluhong, Secretary of Taoyuan Village No. 6, explained that in the past, power was only available for two hours at night when sunlight was scarce in winter. On the one hand, villagers had to ration the use of household appliances; on the other hand, power shortages forced them to burn coal for heating. Since the new system was commissioned, stable power supply is available throughout the night. “We can use TVs, water heaters, refrigerators and electric heaters freely. It is also convenient for villagers to charge their three-wheeled electric vehicles. We are very satisfied,” said Tuluhong.
Behind this stable power supply lies continuous and reliable O&M support. Zonergy has established a service mechanism combining remote intelligent monitoring and on-site O&M. Minor faults can be resolved remotely via the backend, while on-site equipment failures can be reported directly by phone. “I have told villagers to save my phone number and that of the person in charge. Our mobile phones stay on round the clock. Upon receiving a repair call, we will arrive on site within 24 hours to handle the problem,” said Liu Yandong.
▲ One of the project sites
Zonergy sodium-ion energy storage deployed in Xinjiang to secure livelihood power supply in cold, high-altitude regions
A major highlight of this renovation project is the field deployment of Zonergy’s independently developed sodium-ion battery energy storage technology in high-elevation areas of Xinjiang.
The project sites sit at an elevation of more than 3,000 meters, with winter temperatures dropping as low as -28 °C. Such low-temperature conditions impose stringent requirements on energy storage cell performance and the operational stability of the whole system. To cope with these special operating conditions, Zonergy adopted its independently developed Model 72174 170Ah sodium-ion cells, paired with an intelligent battery management system (BMS) and integrated PV-storage control equipment modified for local adaptation. This realizes coordinated operation of photovoltaic power generation, energy storage dispatch and load power supply to guarantee stable power delivery. “In fact, our sodium-ion cells can operate stably even at -60 °C, and the energy storage system is designed and configured to withstand extreme cold conditions,” said Liu Yandong.
Notably, these sodium-ion cells were applied to the Shigatse microgrid project in Xizang in June 2025. They have run stably for more than one year under high-elevation, high-cold conditions with large temperature swings. This has accumulated valuable field test data for verifying cell performance in extreme environments and provides important references for product performance optimization, system design refinement and subsequent application promotion.
In recent years, Zonergy has continuously promoted the deployment of its independently developed sodium-ion cells and integrated products in Xizang, Sichuan, Xinjiang and other regions. From plateau microgrids to power supply projects in remote villages, sodium-ion technology is accelerating its integration into diverse livelihood power consumption scenarios. The smooth commissioning of this Xinjiang project further expands the practical application of sodium-ion batteries in off-grid microgrid systems.
▲ Sodium-ion cells installed inside the battery cabinet (Liu Yandong, manager of the project, on the left)
Wading transport & river crossing via excavator bucket: Zonergy team spares no effort to meet the delivery schedule
Behind the reliable power supply is the Zonergy team, which rises to challenges and forges ahead amid difficult terrain.
The project sites are scattered in high-elevation mountainous regions with rugged mountain roads and poor accessibility. Some sections are only narrow dirt tracks, and river crossings are required along the route. These harsh site conditions bring substantial challenges to equipment transportation, on-site construction and subsequent O&M. “Construction at high-elevation sites is inherently difficult, and some equipment has to be carried by manpower on shoulders and backs. When facing treacherous river sections, heavy trucks wade through the water with equipment onboard, while staff are ferried across standing in the excavator bucket — what we call ‘airlift’,” Liu Yandong recalled.
Even harder to manage than transportation is the volatile mountain weather. After construction kicked off, rain came every two days. To keep the project on schedule, the team raced against time and waged “guerrilla warfare” against the weather. They seized the construction window for concrete pouring as soon as the rain stopped; when rain was imminent, they quickly covered the work site and pressed ahead with PV module installation, mounting structure assembly and cable laying. The team strived to meet the delivery schedule amid constrained construction conditions.
▲ River crossing via excavator bucket
Over a decade of commitment: Zonergy rooted on the frontlines of livelihood power supply
From the lofty mountains of the three autonomous prefectures of Sichuan (Garze, Aba and Liangshan) to the snow-covered highlands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and further to remote villages on the eastern foothills of the Pamir Plateau, Zonergy has remained rooted on the frontlines of livelihood power supply for more than a decade.
In Xinjiang alone, since the launch of the Golden Sun Demonstration Project in 2012, Zonergy has made continuous investments in building centralized power stations, residential PV systems and other facilities to address residents’ basic power supply needs. Since 2019, the company has undertaken “coal-to-electricity” projects for successive years in Kashgar, Hotan, Kizilsu, Aksu and other regions. Relying on local factories, it set up centers for equipment manufacturing, project execution and service centers to deliver long-term, stable O&M services for these projects.
In recent years, backed by continuous breakthroughs in sodium-ion technology, products and technologies represented by the Arctic series — sodium-ion cells tailored for extreme cold and high-altitude scenarios — have been deployed in energy storage and microgrid projects, bringing tangible improvements to the electricity consumption experience of end-users in high-elevation regions.
Looking ahead, Zonergy will continue to build on its years of accumulated experience in project construction and O&M, gain an in-depth understanding of residents’ actual power demand, and keep advancing integrated innovation of sodium-ion batteries and intelligent PV-storage microgrid technologies. With more stable, reliable and sustainable clean energy solutions, the company will help improve the quality of livelihood power supply and contribute “Zonergy Strength” to rural revitalization and the green transition of energy.
▲ Project successfully passes acceptance