Eastern Gansu–Shandong UHVDC Project Commissioned, Opening New West-to-East Energy Corridor

The Eastern ±800kV UHVDC transmission project connecting eastern Gansu and Shandong was officially commissioned on May 8. Starting at the Qingyang converter station in eastern Gansu Province, this cross-provincial project traverses Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Hebei provinces, and terminates at the Dongping converter station in Tai'an City, Shandong Province. Spanning 915 km and costing 20.2 billion yuan, the two-year project marks China's first UHVDC transmission line to achieve full-capacity operation at launch.

High-voltage power towers

High-voltage power towers

The Eastern Gansu–Shandong transmission line is the first outbound power transmission project in China for a large-scale integrated energy base combining wind, solar, thermal, and storage. It will deliver 36 TWh of electricity annually to Shandong, with renewable energy accounting for over 50 percent of the total. This is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 16 million tons annually. Its operation will help transform Gansu’s resource advantages into economic benefits while ensuring Shandong's access to secure and sustainable energy.

(Text/photo by Shang Jie, Song Xiqun and Wang Binya)