State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) has connected the Gan 1 section of the ±800 kV Ningxia–Hunan ultra-high voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission project to the grid.
Located in Gansu, this marks the completion of the first segment of the 1,634-km project, one month ahead of schedule.
The UHVDC line begins in Zhongwei, Ningxia, near the Tengger Desert, traverses Gansu, Shaanxi, Chongqing, and Hubei provinces, and ends in Hunan.
The project includes the construction of two converter stations in Zhongwei, Ningxia, and Hengyang, Hunan, with a combined transmission capacity of 8 GW. The total project investment amounts to CNY28.1 billion.
The Ningxia segment spans 258.85 km with 495 new towers, while the Gansu section extends 184.01 km, requiring 182 new towers.
The project connects to the Shagehuang renewable energy base in Ningxia, which integrates 9.6 GW of solar PV power, 4.64 GW of coal power, and 9.6 GW of wind power.
Upon completion, the UHVDC line will transmit over 36 TWh of electricity annually from Ningxia to Hunan, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 16 million tonnes.