China builds world’s largest capacity power line

Construction of an ultra-high voltage power transmission line designed with the world’s largest capacity started Sunday in China’s far western Xinjiang region. The 800 kv ultra-high voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission line connects the energy base of Hami prefecture in eastern Xinjiang with the central city of Zhengzhou, according to the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), the project contractor. The 2,210-km-long line goes through the vast region of Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan. It costs 23.39 billion yuan (3.7 billion US dollars), and is designed to have a transmission capacity of 8 million kw upon completion in 2014, setting up a new world record. The line will transmit 37 billion kwh on average annually, according to Liu Zhenya, general manager of the State Grid Corporation of China. “We can reduce 317,000 tonnes of sulfur dioxide and 267,000 tonnes of nitrogen oxide which would otherwise be produced during the transportation,” Liu said.