UHV or will enter intensive approval period

After many discussions and games from 2010 to 2013, the UHV approval and construction process is expected to accelerate in 2014.

According to reports, the 1000-kilovolt Huainan-Nanjing-Shanghai UHV AC transmission and transformation project has recently been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, which became the first UHV line approved for construction within the year. This confirms that on April 18, Premier Li Keqiang presided over the opening of a new session of the National Energy Commission, stating that this year it is necessary to start construction of a batch of “West-to-East Electricity Transmission” power transmission channels using UHV and conventional technologies. To optimize resource allocation and promote consumption reduction and efficiency.

All these were considered by the industry as clear positive signals released by the UHV after prolonged disputes.

This year or into the U.S.
According to public information, the 1000-kilovolt Huainan-Nanjing-Shanghai UHV project has a total length of 759.414 kilometers and a total investment of more than 26 billion yuan. It is expected that the entire project will be completed in October 2017. By then, it will form a Yangtze River Delta receiver-ring network with Suidong East to South Loop project that will be put into operation in 2013 to further improve its ability to accept Anhui Dongdian Power, and also lay the foundation for the future to undertake the ultra-high voltage DC power from Ximeng-Taizhou.

The newspaper learned from the Jiangsu Provincial Power Company that the project was transiting that the HuaiShang Railway was the first UHV project of the State Grid Corporation of China to implement localized management of provincial grid companies. After the Huaiyin Line has been put into operation, the transmission capacity of Jiangsu's trans-ocean power transmission channel will be increased from the current 9 million kilowatts to 16 million kilowatts, and large-scale consumption of Jiangsu's coastal wind power will be crucial for Jiangsu's energy security.

Another informed source told this newspaper that the recent Ningdong-Zhejiang DC UHV is also expected to obtain formal roads.

In fact, according to the 2014 work plan of the State Grid, 10 ultra-high voltages of “6 pay and 4 straight” will be approved and started this year, and 381.5 billion yuan will be invested in the power grid. The approval of the exchange of UHV lines within the network and the expectation of DC UHV construction will promote the construction of domestic UHV this year, making it likely to become a major year for UHV approval this year.

The investment in UHV projects is huge, which will greatly affect the capital market of related industries. According to the calculation of the Huainan-Nanjing-Shanghai exchange UHV project, it is estimated that the main equipment demand is about 20 transformers for the main transformers, about RMB 800 million for the main transformers, about RMB 500 million for about 24 reactors and about RMB 3 billion for the GIS. If this year's UHV projects are concentrated and launched as expected, this will bring huge market opportunities to related industry chain companies.

The inevitable choice to optimize resource allocation and governance

An industry source stated that Premier Li Keqiang’s position will directly stop the industry’s debate on whether or not the UHV should be built. The UHV should be built, and it is necessary to build a batch of them, which is obviously different from the opinions previously held at the experimental stage and pilot stage.

The reason why the development of UHV has been widely considered in the industry is that it is an inevitable choice to optimize resource allocation and governance haze.

In the vast land of China, the basic pattern of reverse distribution of energy demand and energy resources is presented. In the western region, resources such as coal, hydropower, wind energy, and solar energy are extremely rich, but the total economic volume is relatively small. The eastern region is relatively economically developed and its energy resources are extremely scarce. The east and the west are separated by thousands of miles.

How to do? The implementation of "West-East Electricity Transmission" is undoubtedly the best choice. Thousands of kilometers of transport distance provide a great stage for UHV development. Liu Zhenya, chairman of the State Grid Corporation of China, pointed out: "We must accelerate the construction of UHV backbone grids and the unified national electricity market, and promote the intensive development of large coal-fired power stations, large hydropower, nuclear power stations, and large-scale renewable energy power generation bases. The optimization of the scope of the project not only solves problems such as abandonment of water, abandonment of wind, and abandonment of light, but also significantly increases the efficiency of development and deployment of fossil fuels such as coal."

The Haminan-Zhengzhou ±800kV UHVDC project is a vivid example of optimizing resource allocation. As of 0:00 on April 21st, as China's first "high-voltage transmission of Xinjiang Jiangyin" project, its power transmission has reached 2.532 billion kwh. According to calculations, Ha Zhengzhou UHV has an annual transmission capacity of 50 billion kilowatt-hours, which is equivalent to the operation of 8 million kilowatt-capacity power plants in Zhengzhou at the same time, reducing carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide emissions by 40 million tons and 330,000 tons respectively.

In addition, the increasingly severe haze weather also provides a sufficient basis for the construction of UHV. “Basically managing hazy weather requires multiple measures. The rational distribution of electricity distribution throughout the country and long-distance large-capacity transmission provide a new way of thinking and an important channel for the management of hazy weather in the eastern part of the country.” China Energy Economic Research Center, Xiamen University Director Lin Boqiang thinks.

To this day, the UHV transmission has become a common consensus in ensuring energy security, controlling haze, improving energy efficiency, and serving economic and social development. During the two sessions this year, delegates from 26 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) submitted proposals and proposals concerning UHV and smart grid development, of which 75 were proposed by the delegation. The development of UHV power grids has been listed as a key recommendation of the National People's Congress and a major proposal of the CPPCC National Committee.