State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) has operationalised the 1,000 kV Jingmen–Wuhan ultra high voltage alternating current (UHVAC) transmission project.
The UHVAC line, which is a key national project under the 13th Five-Year Plan and part of SGCC’s initiative to implement China’s new energy security strategy, took 20 months to complete. The RMB6.5 billion project included the construction of a new 1,000 kV substation in Wuhan, which is connected to the first UHV substation in China—the 1,000 kV Jingmen substation, through a 234-km-long, 1,000 kV transmission line over 458 towers in 11 counties (cities and districts) in Hubei. This project can promote the transformation and upgradation of the Hubei Power Grid with both transmission and receiving ends, and hybrid AC/DC connections. With this project, an E-shaped UHV AC backbone grid is expected to be formed in central China, effectively improving the transmission capacity of the ±800 kV Northern Shaanxi– Hubei UHVDC lines by 2 GW to 6 GW, along with improving the power transmission capacity of the west to east power transmission channel in Hubei Province by 2,800 MW to 13,550 MW. In parallel, the project also significantly improves the power exchange capacity of Hubei and neighbouring provinces, providing strong support for Hubei during the winter power consumption peak.