SIXTH TONE
SIXTH TONE
Untangling the Crossed Wires of China’s ‘Super Grid’
Ultra-high voltage power lines are crucial to a greener future, but world leader China’s growing network has hit its fair share of snags.
SHANGHAI With few coal reserves to call its own and winter rains too erratic to rely on hydropower, central China’s Hunan province had long faced frequent electricity blackouts, an annoyance to residents and a hindrance to economic growth. So when an ultra-high voltage power line was approved in 2015, hopes were high.
The new UHV connection, infrastructure capable of carrying large amounts of electricity over long distances, would run all the way from the energy-rich Jiuquan region in northwestern Gansu province, and bring in enough coal, wind, and solar power to answer a quarter of Hunan’s energy needs.