The 3000 MW, 940-km HVDC line between the Three Gorges and Guangdong – geared to transferring power from Central to South China to help eliminate power outages – was handed over to the State Grid Corporation on 6 June. The link is ABB's second for State Grid Corporation. At 31 months it was completed 19 months faster than ABB's Three Gorges-Changzhou HVDC line.
Recent statistics indicate that twenty four provinces in China have already limited their electric power supply during the first quarter of 2004, two more than for all of 2003. Economic observers say that steel, automotive and chemical companies, among others, are increasing production in China in the face of an inadequate power supply.
"These links help deliver clean hydro power to the fastest growing regions in China," said Peter Leupp, chairman of ABB China. "This means they help eliminate power outages. This is particularly important here in China because the demand for power is growing at a rate faster than the gross domestic product."
ABB says that the new link, which employs gas-insulated switchgear throughout, possesses as a feat of engineering many remarkable features. It is the longest direct current line (940 km) of its class, has a power rating of 3000 MW – a world record for a single converter station – and was built as part of the world's largest hydroelectric power plant.
•ABB has received an order worth $390 million from the State Grid Corporation to build an 1100 km, 3000 MW HVDC transmission link, from the Three Gorges hydroplant in central China to the coastal city of Shanghai. The order is the world’s largest power transmission project for several years.
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