Worlds Longest & Largest Power Transmission Line

ABB has developed the worlds longest and largest power transmission line in SE China, beating out their own previously largest and longest power transmission line in Brazil.  The picture above shows the length of the line with a to-scale reference of Switzerland for a size comparison.

The ±800 kV Xiangjiaba-Shanghai UHVDC link has the capacity to transmit up to 7,200 megawatts (MW) of power from the Xiangjiaba hydropower plant in southwest China to Shanghai, the country’s leading industrial and commercial center about 2,000 kilometers away. The new link is able to meet the electricity needs of about 24 million people, and sets a new benchmark in terms of voltage levels and transmission capacity, superseding the 600 kV (kilovolt) Itaipu transmission line in Brazil, which was also delivered by ABB.

With the new technology, they are able to reduce losses to under 7%, much less than the current 500kV system in place.  The amount of energy saved with the new technology is equal to powering the homes of 1 million Chinese!

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