The State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) has begun construction on its fourth ultra-high-voltage (UHV) alternating current power transmission line. As China's economy has grown, so has its demand for electricity, resulting in many smog-belching coal-fired power plants to be built near heavily populated areas. UHV power lines aim to solve the problem because they allow power plants to be built near the country's coal reserves, far away from its most populated regions, ultimately reducing air pollution for the masses.

A view of power grid in Shanghai Photo: CFP

The State Grid Corporation of China started construction on another UHV power transmission line on May 12 as China hastens steps to champion its proprietary UHV technology.

The Yuheng-Weifang project, an alternating current project linking Shaanxi Province in Northwest China and Shandong Province in East China, is the last and the longest of the four alternating current projects listed in a national plan to combat air pollution. The line is expected to be completed in 2017.

UHV, which is defined as a voltage of at least 1,000 kilovolts for alternating current or 800 kilovolts for direct current, is designed to transmit large amounts of power over long distances with less loss of electricity than the commonly used 500-kilovolt power transmission lines.

Experts said the project, along with its sister projects, could help fight air pollution around Beijing and boost China's exports of its proprietary UHV technology.

Construction has begun on three UHV alternating current power transmission lines.

In November 2014, construction began on a line linking East China's Anhui Province to Shanghai and a line linking North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to Shandong.

Work started in March on the third UHV power transmission line, which links the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region with Tianjin.

The government released a national action plan on air pollution in 2013. It listed 12 power transmission projects whose purpose it is to reduce coal consumption and increase the use of clean energy.

Advanced technology

UHV power lines aim to solve a problem with China's electricity system, said Tian Yun, an economist at the China Society of Macroeconomics under the National Development and Reform Commission.

"China's energy resources are far away from its industrial centers. Most of China's industrial facilities are located in the coastal regions - the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta," Tian told the Global Times Thursday. "However, China's energy resources largely sit in its northwestern regions."

"UHV power line suits China, a country with vast territory and high demand for electricity," Lin Boqiang, a professor with the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times.

However, UHV power transmission projects have been met with some doubt, primarily about the technology's maturity and its purported economic benefits.

Media reports have reported that some experts in the electricity sector have questioned the safety and competitiveness in comparison to alternative plans featuring lower voltage lines.

"The fight against smog provided a unique chance for UHV to develop, albeit some experts' concerns," Lin said.

"With emerging energy bases focused on coal, oil, and natural gas in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region as well as pipelines transporting oil and gas imports from Russian and Central Asia countries, UHV could be a useful tool," Tian said. "Burning these fossil fuels in coastal region also tests the region's environmental endurance. Transmitting electricity across regions has become the only option."

The Yuheng-Weifang project starts in Shaanxi Province and passes through North China's Shanxi Province, both home to vast coal reserves. The line will stretch 1,049 kilometers through North China's Hebei Province to Shandong, making it the longest UHV power transmission alternating current project in the world.

"The coal fields in Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces could potentially support up to 130 million kilowatts of newly increased installed capacity from coal-fired power plants, and these power sources need timely construction of new power transmission lines," SGCC said in a press release e-mailed to the Global Times on May 12.

The company estimated that demand for out-of-region power in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province will rise to 54 million kilowatts by 2020, as the regions struggle to reduce their reliance on coal-fired power. The regions also face rising new demand from consumers such as electric car owners.

UHV technology could help China to tap the excess energy of neighboring countries, such as excess electricity generated in Russia's Siberia, Tian said.

SGCC has struck a number of investment deals globally. Its chairman Liu Zhenya envisions a globally connected power grid that employs Smart Grid and UHV technologies.

The company invested in the power grid of the Philippines in 2009 and Italian energy grid holding company CDP Reti in November 2014, according to media reports.

Fighting smog

The Yuheng-Weifang power line is capable of transmitting 36 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to North China each year, which is expected to reduce coal consumption by 16 million tons, cut carbon dioxide emission by 29 million tons, and lower sulfur dioxide emission by 79,000 tons, according to SGCC.

"The construction of these UHV networks is basic, preparatory work for the campaign against smog. It facilitates future action to fight air pollution," said Zhao Zhangyuan, a professor at the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences.

"Generating electricity in places far away from the crowded coastal areas, or producing power in a centralized fashion instead of burning coal from multiple sources, such as countless smaller plants and boilers, will reduce pollutant emissions," Lin said.

UHV allows more coal to be consumed for generating electricity, instead of heat, thus increasing efficiency and reducing pollutants, Lin said.

Experts said large UHV projects also benefit electrical equipment producers, construction material makers and job creation.

China also needs more investment on domestic infrastructure projects to spur growth, which is slowing down, Tian said.

Tech exports

In February 2014, a Chinese-led consortium backed by SGCC won a contract to build a UHV line transmitting hydropower from the Belo Monte Dam, one of Brazil's largest hydroelectric projects. The deal was hailed as a milestone in China's export of electricity transmission technology.

The signing ceremony of the project is expected to be held during Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Brazil this week, and the power line is expected to be completed in 2017.

Li's visit to Brazil started on Monday, which is expected to end on Thursday.

"Chinese power industry is one of the world's most efficient, following closely behind Japan and South Korea, but ahead of the US," Lin said.

"Smaller countries cannot effectively deploy the UHV technology," Tian said. "Among the bigger countries, China is the only one who constructs, operates and maintains UHV power transmission on such a large scale, and for countries that seek imports of this technology, China has become the natural choice."

SGCC's smaller rival, China Southern Power Grid, which provides service for five southern provinces, also operates two UHV power transmission lines, according to the company's website.

China Southern Power Grid engages in cross-border electricity transmission in Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.
Newspaper headline: Going the distance