China is willing to share its experience in developing a long-distance power transmission technology known as ultra-high voltage (UHV) grid with other countries, a Chinese official said here Tuesday.
China has "comprehensively mastered the core technologies of UHV transmission with independent intellectual property rights," said Liang Xu Ming, director of executive director office of the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC),
UHV, defined as voltage of 1,000 kilovolts or above in alternating current (AC) and 800 kilovolts or above in direct current (DC), is designed to deliver large quantities of power over long distances with less power loss than the most commonly used 500-kilovolt line.
By the end of 2014, the SGCC has built three AC and four DC projects, Liang said, adding that the transmission lines in operation and under construction have reached 15,000 kilometers in length with the transmission or conversion capacity of 150 gigavolt-amperes and have delivered over 280 terawatthours of electricity.
Between the 1960s and 1990s, Russia, Japan, the U.S. and Italy had carried out tests and studies of UHV transmission technology, but due to political factors like the disintegration of the Soviet Union and reduced demand, their UHV plans and projects all came to a premature end.