±800kV UHVDC Power Link Connects Northern Shaanxi Renewable Energy Bases to Anhui Load Centres
According to Xinhua News Agency, the landmark ±800 kilovolt ultra-high voltage direct current transmission project running from northern Shaanxi to Anhui has entered full commercial operation, creating a long-distance energy artery that delivers wind and solar power generated across the Loess Plateau to household and industrial air conditioning loads thousands of kilometres away in Anhui Province.
Construction work on the scheme formally commenced in March 2024. The transmission corridor originates from Baotashan Converter Station in Yan’an, Shaanxi Province, and terminates at Hezhou Converter Station in Hefei, Anhui Province, with a total line length of approximately 1,055 kilometres spanning three provincial regions. The completed infrastructure can deliver more than 36 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity from northern Shaanxi to Anhui each year. This annual transmission volume accounts for nearly sixty per cent of Hefei’s total power consumption recorded in 2025, and close to ten per cent of Anhui’s full-year electricity demand across all sectors. It stands as the first dedicated UHVDC route in Anhui designed to fully absorb high-proportion renewable energy supplies sourced from outside provincial borders.
Anhui Energy Group leads the development of supporting power generation assets built to feed the cross-provincial transmission channel. Operating beyond Anhui’s administrative boundaries, the group has developed large-scale new energy facilities in Yan’an, Shaanxi, to secure stable upstream power supplies for the Shaanxi-Anhui electricity transmission route. These upstream assets underpin consistent power delivery for Anhui’s grid and accelerate the province’s shift towards a low-carbon energy mix. Senior operational staff overseeing the Yan’an-based power assets estimate overall investment across the full industrial chain will range between 80 billion and 100 billion yuan, generating steady annual tax revenue of roughly one billion yuan for the old revolutionary base region in northern Shaanxi.
A series of west-to-east power transmission corridors have been completed and activated across the country in recent years. Anhui Energy Group has seized the strategic momentum by developing industrial bases in energy-rich north-western regions including Xinjiang and Shaanxi. Planning for supporting power generation assets is coordinated around two major cross-provincial transmission links, namely Xinjiang-to-Anhui and Shaanxi-to-Anhui power routes. Installed capacity and the share of renewable generation continue to expand, reinforcing the province’s capacity to maintain stable power supplies and advance low-carbon transformation. Cross-provincial green energy supply chains are systematically developed, with large-scale, high-quality external energy assets supporting balanced high-quality economic and social development throughout Anhui and advancing the province’s carbon peaking and carbon neutrality targets.
The transmission corridor integrates over 11 million kilowatts of wind and photovoltaic generation capacity at its sending end, with renewable power making up more than half of total annual transmitted volumes. Annual coal consumption cuts reach 5.5 million tonnes once the project operates at full load, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 14 million tonnes annually. Grid operators roll out coordinated scheduling mechanisms between the Shaanxi generation hubs and Anhui’s 500kV main grid network to maximise the utilisation of cross-provincial clean power flows during peak summer demand periods.
Additional investment into supplementary energy storage and flexible generation assets proceeds alongside the transmission line’s operation. Coordinated planning between provincial energy authorities and grid operators will expand the scale of cross-regional renewable energy transmission and strengthen the resilience of inter-provincial power supply networks.
