# Ultra-high-voltage electricity transmission in China

Ultra-high-voltage electricity transmission (UHV electricity transmission) has been used in the People's Republic of China since 2009 to transmit both alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) electricity over long distances separating China's energy resources and consumers.

## Background

Since 2004, electricity consumption in People's Republic of China has been growing at an unprecedented rate due to the rapid growth of industrial sectors. Serious supply shortage during 2005 had impacted the operation of many Chinese companies. Since then, China has very aggressively invested in electricity supply in order to fulfil the demand from industries and hence secure economic growth. Installed generation capacity has run from 443 GW at end of 2004 to 793 GW at the end of 2008. The increment in these four years is equivalent to approximately one-third of the total capacity of the United States, or 1.4 times the total capacity of Japan. During the same period of time, annual energy consumption has also risen from 2,197 TWh to 3,426 TWh. China's electricity consumption is expected to reach 6,800–6,900 TWh by 2018 from 4,690 TWh in 2011, with installed capacity reaching 1,463 GW from 1,056 GW in 2011, of which 342 GW is hydropower, 928 GW coal-fired, 100 GW wind, 43 GW nuclear, and 40 GW natural gas. China is the country with the largest consumption of electricity as of 2011.
China's Twelfth Five-Year Plan (covering the period 2011 to 2015) provided for the development of an ultra-high-voltage (UHV) transmission corridor to increase the integration of renewable energy from the point of generation to its point of consumption.$^{:39–41}$

## Transmission and distribution

On the transmission and distribution side, the country has focused on expanding capacity and reducing losses by:
* deploying long-distance ultra-high-voltage direct current (UHVDC) and ultra-high-voltage alternating current (UHVAC) transmission
* installing high-efficiency amorphous metal transformers

## UHV transmission worldwide

UHV transmission and a number of UHVAC circuits have already been constructed in different parts of the world. For example, 2,362 km of 1,150 kV circuits were built in the former USSR, and 427 km of 1,000 kV AC circuits have been developed in Japan (Kita-Iwaki powerline). Experimental lines of various scales are also found in many countries. However, most of these lines are currently operating at lower voltage due to insufficient power demand or other reasons.
In 2015, State Grid Corporation of China proposed the Global Energy Interconnection, a long-term proposal to develop globally integrated smart grids and ultra high voltage transmission networks to connect over 80 countries.$^{:92–93}$ The idea is supported by CCP general secretary Xi Jinping and his leadership in attempting to develop support in various internal forums, including UN bodies.$^{:92}$

## Reasons for UHV transmission in China

China's focus on UHV transmission is based on the fact that energy resources are far away from the load centers.$^{:39}$ The majority of the hydropower resources are in the west, and coal is in the northwest, but huge loads are in the east and south. To reduce transmission losses to a manageable level, UHV transmission is a logical choice. As the State Grid Corporation of China announced at the 2009 International Conference on UHV Power Transmission in Beijing, China will invest RMB 600 billion (approximately US$88 billion) into UHV development between now and 2020.
Implementation of the UHV grid enables the construction of newer, cleaner, more efficient power generation plants far from population centers. Older power plants along the coast will be retired. This will lower the total current amount of pollution, as well as the pollution felt by citizens within urban dwellings. The use of large central power plants providing electric heating are also less polluting than individual boilers used for winter heating in many northern households. The UHV grid will aid China's plan of electrification and decarbonization, and enable integration of renewable energy by removing the transmission bottleneck that is currently limiting expansions in wind and solar generation capacity whilst further developing the market for long-range electric vehicles in China.

## UHV circuits completed or under construction

As of 2023, the operational UHV circuits are:
| Name (Chinese) | Type | Voltage (kV) | Length (km) | Power rating (GW) | Year Completed |
| Jindongnan–Nanyang–Jingmen (晋东南-南阳-荆门) | AC | 1000 | 654 | 5.0 | January 2009 |
| Yunnan - Guangdong (云南-广东) | HVDC | ±800 | 1438 | 5 | June 2010 |
| Xiangjiaba–Shanghai (向家坝-上海) | HVDC | ±800 | 1907 | 6.4 | July 2010 |
| Jinping – Southern Jiangsu (锦屏-苏南) | HVDC | ±800 | 2059 | 7.2 | December 2012 |
| Huainan–Zhejiang North–Shanghai (淮南-浙北-上海) | AC | 1000 | 2×649 | 8.0 | September 2013 |
| Nuozadu - Guangdong (糯扎渡-广东) | HVDC | ±800 | 1413 | 5 | May 2015 |
| Hami – Zhengzhou (哈密-郑州) | HVDC | ±800 | 2210 | 8 | January 2014 |
| Xiluodu - Zhejiang West (溪洛渡-浙西) | HVDC | ±800 | 1680 | 8 | July 2014 |
| Zhejiang North - Fuzhou (浙北-福州) | AC | 1000 | 2×603 | 6.8 | December 2014 |
| Huainan–Nanjing–Shanghai (淮南-南京-上海) | AC | 1000 | 2×780 | | November 2016 |
| Xilingol League - Shandong (锡盟-山东) | AC | 1000 | 2×730 | 9 | July 2016 |
| Lingzhou - Shaoxing (灵州-绍兴) | HVDC | ±800 | 1720 | 8 | September 2016 |
| Inner Mongolia West - Tianjin (蒙西-天津南) | AC | 1000 | 2×608 | 5 | December 2016 |
| Jiuquan–Hunan (酒泉-湖南) | HVDC | ±800 | 2383 | 8 | June 2017 |
| Shanxi North–Jiangsu (晋北-江苏) | HVDC | ±800 | 1119 | 8 | July 2017 |
| Xilingol League - Shengli (锡盟-胜利) | AC | 1000 | 2x236.8 | | August 2017 |
| Yuheng–Weifang (榆横-潍坊) | AC | 1000 | 2×1050 | | August 2017 |
| Xilingol League–Jiangsu (锡盟-江苏) | HVDC | ±800 | 1620 | 10 | October 2017 |
| Zhalute–Qingzhou (扎鲁特—青州) | HVDC | ±800 | 1234 | 10 | December 2017 |
| Shanghaimiao–Linyi (上海庙-临沂) | HVDC | ±800 | 1238 | 10 | December 2017 |
| Dianxi-Guangdong (滇西-广东) | HVDC | ±800 | 1959 | 5 | December 2017 |
| Zhundong–Wannan (准东-皖南) | HVDC | ±1100 | 3293 | 12 | December 2018 |
| Shijiazhuang–Xiong'an (石家庄-雄安) | AC | 1000 | 2×222.6 | | June 2019 |
| Weifang-Linyi-Zaozhuang-Heze-Shijiazhuang (潍坊-临沂-枣庄-菏泽-石家庄) | AC | 1000 | 2×823.6 | | January 2020 |
| Zhangbei-Xiong'an (张北-雄安) | AC | 1000 | 2×319.9 | | August 2020 |
| Mengxi-Jinzhong (蒙西-晋中) | AC | 1000 | 2x304 | | October 2020 |
| Qinghai-Henan (青海-河南) | HVDC | ±800 | 1587 | 8 | December 2020 |
| Wudongde-Guangxi-Guangdong (昆柳龙直流工程) | HVDC | ±800 | 1489 | 8 | December 2020 |
| Zhangbei-Xiong'an (张北-雄安) | AC | 1000 | 2×319.9 | | December 2020 |
| Zhumadian-Nanyang (驻马店-南阳) | AC | 1000 | 186.6 | | December 2020 |
| Yazhong-Jiangxi (雅中-江西) | HVDC | ±800 | 1711 | 8 | June 2021 |
| Shanbei-Hubei (陕北-湖北) | HVDC | ±800 | 1127 | | August 2021 |
| Nanchang-Changsha (南昌-长沙) | AC | 1000 | 2×341 | | December 2021 |
| Baihetan-Jiangsu (白鹤滩-江苏) | HVDC | ±800 | 2087 | 8.0 | July 2022 |
| Nanyang-Jingmen-Changsha (南阳-荆门-长沙) | AC | 1000 | | | October 2022 |
| Wuhan-Jingmen-Changsha (武汉-荆门) | AC | 1000 | 2x233 | | December 2022 |
| Baihetan-Zhejiang (白鹤滩-浙江) | HVDC | ±800 | 2193 | 8 | December 2022 |
| Wuhan-Zhumadian (武汉-驻马店) | AC | 1000 | 2x287 | | November 2023 |
| Fuzhou-Xiamen (福州-厦门) | AC | 1000 | 2x238 | | December 2023 |
| Zhangbei-Shengli (张北-胜利) | AC | 1000 | 2×366 | | October 2024 |
| Wuhan-Nanchang (武汉-南昌) | AC | 1000 | 2x456.6 | | November 2024 |
| Sichuan-Chongqing (四川-重庆) | AC | 1000 | 2x658 | 24 | December 2024 |
The under-construction/In preparation UHV lines are:
| Name (Chinese) | Type | Voltage (kV) | Length (km) | Power rating (GW) | Year started |
| Jinshang-Hubei (金上-湖北) | HVDC | ±800 | 1901 | 8 | February 2023 |
| Xaoping-Shandong (陇东-山东) | HVDC | ±800 | 926 | 8 | March 2023 |
| Ningxia-Hunan (宁夏-湖南) | HVDC | ±800 | 1634 | 8 | June 2023 |
| Hami-Chongqing (哈密-重庆) | HVDC | ±800 | 2290 | | August 2023 |
| Shaanbei-Anhui (陕北-安徽) | HVDC | ±800 | 1069 | 8 | March 2024 |
| Aba-Chengdu East(阿坝-成都东) | AC | 1000 | 2x371.7 | | July 2024 |
| Gansu-Zhejiang (甘肃-浙江) | HVDC | ±800 | 2370 | 8 | July 2024 |
| Geermu-Guangxi (格尔木-广西) | HVDC | ±800 | | 8 | February 2025 |
| Datong-Huailai-Tianjin South (大同-怀来-天津南) | AC | 1000 | 2x770 | | March 2025 |