New UHV line boosts west-to-east power transmission

On June 30, the Northern Shaanxi-Anhui ±800-kilovolt ultra-high-voltage direct-current transmission project went into operation, adding another major artery to China's west-to-east power transmission program.

It is the first UHVDC project commissioned since the launch of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–30) and the third UHV outbound power corridor from Shaanxi province.

Stretching 1,055 kilometers, the power line passes through Shaanxi, Henan and Anhui provinces. With a rated transmission capacity of 8 gigawatts, it can deliver more than 36 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to Anhui each year.

More than half of this supply will come from clean energy sources, delivering stable, reliable and sustained power support for Anhui's provincial grid and helping the province build a diversified power supply system.

Once fully operational, the project is expected to cut coal consumption by roughly 5.5 million metric tons and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around 14.2 million tons per year.

The project taps Shaanxi's abundant coal and new energy resources, supporting the province's transition from a traditional energy economy to a modern one. It also facilitates efficient green energy utilization across central and western China and increases the share of clean power consumed in East China, advancing coordinated and sustainable development in the energy, economic and ecological sectors.

During construction, the project team overcame the technical challenge of building a converter station on highly collapsible loess soil, developing a replicable UHV construction solution tailored for loess regions.

The developers also deployed a digital construction management platform, Beidou-based surveying and line-setting technologies, and a range of green construction measures to help the transmission corridor coexist harmoniously with surrounding ecosystems.

Shaanxi sits at the eastern edge of the Northwest China power grid, serving as a bridgehead for the west-to-east power transmission program and a cornerstone of national electricity security.

The project raises Shaanxi's total outbound power transmission capacity to 31.67 GW. This figure will rise to 39.67 GW once the Shaanxi–Henan ±800 kV UHVDC project comes online. It will support the development of a new-type power system centered on new energy, advance the low-carbon energy transition and help China meet its dual carbon goals: peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060.