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Hangzhou's digital boom spurs power consumption

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      China

      China

      Hangzhou's digital boom spurs power consumption

      2025-03-16 12:51 Last Updated At:13:07

      Fueled by the artificial intelligence (AI) and other data-driven industries, the rapid expansion of the digital economy in Hangzhou, home city of China's tech giant Alibaba and startup DeepSeek, has driven a sharp increase in electricity consumption and higher demands for stable power supply.

      In the first two months of 2025, electricity consumption in the internet data service sector of Hangzhou, capital of east China's economic powerhouse province of Zhejiang, surged by 231 percent year on year. Key data centers across the city were the main drivers of this growth, with their power consumption growth rates outpacing that of the city's overall electricity demand.

      "The internet and related sectors now are the primary contributor to Hangzhou's rising power consumption, accounting for 50.03 percent in the past two months. This growth has strongly supported the city's high-quality economic development," said Wang Yanyan, a data analyst at the Hangzhou Energy Big Data Evaluation and Application Research Center.

      In addition to the sharp rise in electricity consumption, high-tech enterprises are requiring stabler power supply and higher electric power quality.

      Among these firms is Nurotron, a company based in Yuhang district of Hangzhou specializing in manufacturing neural electrical stimulation therapy and rehabilitation products.

      During the laser welding of a receiver coil for a cochlear implant, over 500 welding points are packed into an area smaller than a fingernail. Any slight vibration of the welding machine can result in significant product failures.

      "Even a 0.01-second fluctuation in power supply can affect the quality. If the product fails to meet standards, the losses could run into millions," explained Tan Zhiping, a technical director at Nurotron.

      To meet the demand for power stability of the high-tech industries, Hangzhou has introduced a new power distribution network featuring a dual-loop design, known as the "double-petal structure". With this system, which interlinks four 10-kilovolt power lines, the reliability of power supply doubles compared to a conventional grid structure.

      "If one line fails, the other line within the 'petal' instantly takes over. It is precisely this mutual backup and instantaneous takeover mechanism between the 'petals' that isolates faults within milliseconds, ensuring uninterrupted power supply to users in the affected area," said Xia Hongjun, head of the operation and maintenance division at State Grid Yuhang company.

      The city has also rolled out a digital twin power grid, enabling real-time monitoring and analysis of over 3,800 substations to enhance efficiency and reliability.

      Hangzhou's digital boom spurs power consumption

      Hangzhou's digital boom spurs power consumption

      Next Article

      Taiwan enterprises benefit from mainland's digital transformation

      2025-03-16 22:58 Last Updated At:23:37

      Nearly 100 Taiwan-invested enterprises in east China's Xiamen City have participated in the city's digital transformation scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises, which significantly boosted production efficiency for the companies.

      Xiamen is one of the inaugural cities in the country piloting the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Taiwan-invested companies that signed up for digital upgrades covered a wide range of industries including electronic devices, power transmission and distribution and medical instruments.

      In the production workshop of a Taiwan-funded circuit board company, digital screens display real-time operations, intelligent robots transport materials, and automatic pickers can quickly match the missing raw materials in the production process. A seven-step production line requires only four technicians.

      "They guided us in the digital system construction, process transformation, and some intelligent analysis. Our production efficiency has improved by about 10 percent to 15 percent," said Yang Zhijian, factory director of Junling Electronics (Xiamen) Company.

      Some Taiwan-funded enterprises are also actively promoting the digital transformation of the industrial chain and supply chain.

      "We have assisted more than 30 enterprises to complete digital assessment, and more than 20 enterprises to finish special transformation, effectively helping enterprises to solve the problems of low production efficiency and quality control," said Li Yong, consulting director of Youda Zhihui Intelligent Manufacturing (Xiamen) Company.

      According to statistics, the average production cost after the transformation is reduced by 15 percent, and the management efficiency is also greatly improved.

      "We are also encouraging these [digital] service providers to go global and take advantage of cross-strait exchanges and BRICS relations to help companies go overseas. We will also specifically organize supply and demand matching meetings between service providers and Taiwan-funded enterprises," said Song Luwen, director of Department of Small and Medium Enterprises under Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology.

      Taiwan enterprises benefit from mainland's digital transformation

      Taiwan enterprises benefit from mainland's digital transformation

      Taiwan enterprises benefit from mainland's digital transformation

      Taiwan enterprises benefit from mainland's digital transformation

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