China Launches First 15th Five-Year Plan UHVDC Project, Transmitting Green Energy from Shaanxi to Anhui
The State Grid Corporation of China announced on June 30 that the Shaanbei–Anhui ±800 kV ultra-high-voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission project was put into operation that day. This is China’s first UHVDC transmission project commissioned during the 15th Five-Year Plan period and another landmark project in the nation’s west-to-east power transmission program. Green electricity from northern Shaanxi will light up homes in the Dabie Mountain region. The project starts at the Baotashan Converter Station in Yan’an, Shaanxi, passes through Shaanxi, Henan, and Anhui provinces, and ends at the Hezhou Converter Station in Hefei, Anhui, with a total DC line length exceeding 1,000 km. The project has a rated voltage of ±800 kV and a rated capacity of 8 million kW. Once in operation, it can transmit over 36 billion kWh of electricity to Anhui annually, with new energy electricity accounting for more than 50% of the total. In addition to strongly supporting reliable power supply in Anhui and east China, it will replace the consumption of 5.5 million mt of coal each year and reduce CO₂ emissions by over 14 million mt, delivering significant energy-saving benefits.