China launches its longest EHV power line

• 4 years ago (2019-07-04)
• David Flin

Asia 848 Transmission 181

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China has launched its longest extra-high voltage (EHV) power transmission line, connecting the far western region of Xinjiang and the eastern province of Anhui. The project aims to help meet increasing power demand in the industrialised eastern regions and reduce the amount of wasted electricity in the west. As part of Beijing’s anti-pollution campaign, new coal-fired power units have been banned in the smog-prone eastern region of the country.

The 3324km 1100kV transmission line is designed to transmit 66TWh of electricity a year. Most of the electricity transmitted will come from the Zhundong coal-fired power plant in northern Xinjiang.

China has been promoting cross-region electricity transmission lines, especially EHV projects, as these have larger transmission capacity and smaller line losses compared to ordinary lines. According to the State Grid Corporation of China, the country had 18 EHV lines with an overall transmission length of 27,570km at the end of June 2019.

The National Energy Administration approved 12 EHV transmission projects in September 2018, aiming to bring electricity generated by renewable power plants in western China to the east and central regions.