The Zhejiang section of China's Baihetan-Zhejiang ultra-high-voltage direct current (UHVDC) power transmission project was completed in east China on July 2.

The transmission line begins with the Baihetan hydropower station, a 16 gigawatt (GW) hydroelectric facility, the world's second-largest power station after the 22.5GW Three Gorges Dam, also in China.

Located on the Jinsha River, the upper section of the Yangtze River which runs through the provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan in southwest China, the Baihetan hydropower station transmits electricity from the resource-rich west to energy-hungery regions in east China, marking a major step in the country's utilization of clean energy.

The line, which is part of China's "East Powered by the West" project, covers a total length of 2,140.2 kilometers with a transmission capacity of 8,000 megawatts.

Baihetan-Zhejiang UHVDC transmission project

Located in east China, the Zhejiang section is the first part of the project to be completed. It is 113.95 kilometers long, with 234 new power pylons. 

Zhou Chenglin, executive manager of the Baihetan-Zhejiang UHVDC transmission project, told China Media Group (CMG) that "the terrain of the Zhejiang section of the Baihetan-Zhejiang UHVDC power transmission project is complex, with both high mountains and deep waterways."

"The power line needs to cross dozens of high-speed roads, railways and key power transmission lines. Therefore, the construction is quite difficult. Once the section is completed and put into operation, its annual power transmission is expected to exceed 23.6 billion kWh."

The project was conducted in an environmentally-friendly way along the best path between mountains and rivers, bypassing a number of cultural relics and scenic spots, in order to reduce carbon emissions, Zhou added.

World's second largest hydropower plant

The main construction project of the Baihetan hydropower station started in July 2017, and the first two generating units started operation four years later. 

By the end of this May, the Beihetan hydropower station had produced over 26,900 gigawatt-hours of electricity, according to Wang Zhilin, who heads the Baihetan project construction at China Three Gorges Corporation. 

The project is expected to be completed in July. Upon full operation, the hydropower station will generate an average of more than 62,400 gigawatt-hours of electricity every year, sufficient for the annual electricity consumption of approximately 75 million people.