The district-level government and power companies recently moved a major 500-kilovolt ultra-high voltage tower in Baotou city's Rare Earth High-tech Industrial Development Zone, that carried power to the North China grid.

Shuangliang Silicon Materials (Baotou) Co, the company that needs to use the land that the old tower was located on, is a leading manufacturer of monocrystalline silicon wafers in Baotou – located in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region – with some of the most advanced production technology in China.

The idea is for the site to be used in the third phase of the company's production expansion project – expected to generate 1.5 times the annual output of the huge Three Gorges hydroelectric power plant on the Yangtze River.

The challenge behind the tower's movement was the big power outages it caused. However, the outages were managed at the national level, something that could only be done once every six years. Furthermore, the tower's foundations had to be dug out more than 20 meters deep, while the construction period had to be during a period when the outside temperature was more than 15 C, to allow for coagulant condensation.

In addition, 13 projects needed to be cross-operated, with high security risks and difficult controls.

March this year was identified as the best time for the power outage maintenance node in the six-year period. On Feb 24, the tower relocation project began. During the construction period, cold air arrived repeatedly, so the team set up a tent in the pit of the tower's base to ensure the temperature required for the coagulant condensation.

On April 8, the project was completed. From the demolition of the original tower to the construction of the new tower elsewhere, the project took a total of 44 days. At present, the company's expansion project has also started its construction smoothly.

"Through this incident, Shuangliang Silicon Materials has had firm confidence in the in-depth development of the Baotou silicon industry," said deputy general manager Xu Lili.

"We are determined to contribute wisdom and strength to Baotou to build the world's green silicon capital," Xu added.