By 2020, China will consume twice as much electric power as it does today, according to expert estimates.
The fact that China’s southeast region consumes most of the electric power, while its energy resources are sourced from the north and northwest regions, requires that the energy resources be converted into electric power locally and distributed though long-distance power transmission lines for nationwide use.
Wind and solar energy are the primary clean energy technologies in China, mainly spread across the western and northern regions (the exploitable wind energy capacity of Xin Jiang may reach the hundreds of millions of KWs and the exploitable installed wind power capacity of Hexi Corridor may be up to 100 million KWs). These regions, however, are less economically developed and their electric power consumption is comparatively small. There is also the need for this clean energy to be transmitted to the Southeast.
UHV transmission technology is superior to EHV and other voltage classes because of its long-distance transmission capability, huge capacity, low transmission loss and high transmission efficiency, which can be used to meet the energy requirements of China’s developing economy’s and to alleviate the coal transportation tension (38.5% of the Chinese rail capacity was used to transport coal in 2000, and this figure rose to 57.8% in 2011).