The multi-terminal ultra high voltage (UHV) flexible direct current (DC) project transmitting power from the Wudongde hydropower station in Southwest China's Yunnan Province to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guangdong Province went into operation on Dec 27, six months ahead of schedule.
The project was invested and constructed by China Southern Power Grid.
It is China's first multi-terminal UHV DC demonstration project and the world's first UHV flexible DC project. It has the world's highest voltage and largest transmission capacity.
Approved by the National Development and Reform Commission in March 2018, the project is equipped with the ±800kV UHV three-terminal hybrid DC system and can transmit as much as 8 million kilowatts of power.
With a total investment of nearly 24.25 billion yuan ($3.71 billion), the project starts from the Kunbei convertor station in Yunnan and passes Guizhou, Guangxi and Guangdong, winding 1,452 kilometers through mountains and across rivers.
The project is expected to transmit 33 billion kWh of power annually, equaling the annual power consumption of Hainan Province. It will improve hydropower utilization in Yunnan and supply power for economic development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
All the power is produced by clean energy, which avoids burning 9.5 million tons of coal and eliminates 25 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
The project also played a role in development of upstream and downstream enterprises in fields of raw materials, electrical equipment and electronic devices as well as in the design, engineering, project supervision and inspection industries.
More than 40 companies participated in the construction and 150 suppliers provided materials for the project. In addition, the project attracted social investment of about 78 billion yuan.
Hydropower utilization in Yunnan is predicted to reach more than 99 percent by the end of 2020 thanks to the Wudongde hydropower station.
The newly operable power transmission project will contribute to utilization of hydropower in the province while improving large-scale development and utilization of other new energy sources such as wind and solar power.
The multi-terminal UHV flexible DC project transmitting power from the Wudongde hydropower station in Yunnan Province to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guangdong Province winds 1,452 kilometers through mountains and across rivers. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
Construction of the section over the Beijiang River in Qingyuan, Guangdong, of the multi-terminal UHV flexible DC project transmitting power from the Wudongde hydropower station to Guangxi and Guangdong is underway on March 24, 2020. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
A view of the DC field of the Longmen convertor station in Guangdong [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)
