ABB announced the completion and commissioning of the world's longest power transmission link, as well as the most powerful. The Xiangjiaba-Shanghai project stretches from the Xianjiaba hydropower plant in the southwest of China, all the way to Shanghai, some 2000 km away. The link is capable of tranporting up to 7.2 GW of power, and will eventually supply 24 million people with electricity from remote renewable energy sources. This is an ultra-high voltage direct current (UHVDC) link with 800 kV current. With the growing expansion of renewable energy capacity in China, this kind of transmission system is just what the country needs to be able to enrich its power grid with more clean power, and provide more electricity to the growing demand by consumers.

The project is owned by the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), which puts focus on remote renewable energy as power supply. With transmission losses of about 7%, the new link is way above the level of efficiency of 500 kV transmission lines. The electricity saved this way is enough to power a million people in China.

[source: ABB]