Power operator banks on high voltage project for sustainability initiative

China Southern Power Grid Corp Ltd is banking on its Wudongde power station to cater to the growing energy needs of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and drive the use of green energy in the region.

The State-owned power operator recently started an ultra-high voltage project to deliver electricity from Wudongde hydropower station in Yunnan province to multiple terminals in Guangdong province and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. It can transmit about 8 million kilowatt-hours of electricity every hour - the largest of its kind in the world - along a direct current circuit of 1,489 kilometers.

It means more than 32 billion kilowatt-hours would be transmitted annually upon completion, reducing coal consumption of 9.2 million metric tons and carbon dioxide emissions of 2.45 million tons in the area.

"The Greater Bay Area is central to China's power consumption and a key region for electricity and energy technology research," said Li Qingkui, chairman of CSG. "We will vigorously promote the development of intelligent electricity networks, large-size energy storage and electric vehicle technology." Headquartered in Guangdong, the company is banking on innovation to become a global leader in electricity transmission technology, Li noted.

Wei Guiyu, an assistant director of CSG's branch EHV Power Transmission Company, said the operator is focusing on flexible direct current technology - the most advanced control system in the world - for the new project.

It can precisely control the direction, volume and speed of electricity input on multiple receiving ends, making the power transmission more efficient and reliable, she added.

Meanwhile, another ultrahigh voltage direct current project has just been completed by the operator with entirely domestic equipment. The route is 1,953 kilometers long and is expected to transmit 20 billion kWh of green electricity annually, equivalent to one fourth of Shenzhen's total electricity usage last year.

In addition, the power provider also provides a quarter of Hong Kong's total electricity and more than 70 percent of Macao's. The third passage to Macao is under construction and scheduled to be operational in June 2019.

Besides sufficient electricity supply, the power grid also focuses on reliability. In 2017, it realized approximately 2.6 hours outage for each user in a year, a decrease of 97 percent compared with 10 years ago, and plans to further cut the time to 0.99 hours this year in Shenzhen.

Service efficiency has also been improved in the Greater Bay Area. In the west side of the Pearl River Delta area, the power station of Hengqin Island, one area of China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, has compressed the electricity application period by 80 percent.