China has built the world’s longest and most powerful ultrahigh-voltage power line, stretching over 2,000 miles from solar and wind farms in Xinjiang to the populous east coast, including Shanghai. This line is one of 42 such lines that far surpass US capabilities in size and efficiency, using advanced direct current technology to minimize energy loss, according toKeith Bradsher of The New York Times. Driven by rapid clean energy growth and a massive electricity demand from electric vehicles and high-speed trains, China’s top-down approach has enabled fast grid expansion despite local discomfort and environmental concerns. The network is key to China’s climate goals and energy security, but it also highlights growing vulnerabilities and central control. They write:
In China, the longest ultrahigh-voltage power line stretches more than 2,000 miles from the far northwest to the populous southeast — the equivalent of transmitting electricity from Idaho to New York City.
The power line starts in a remote desert in northwest China, where vast arrays of solar panels and wind turbines generate electricity on a monumental scale. It snakes southeast, following an ancient river between mountain ranges before reaching Anhui Province near Shanghai, home to 61 million people and some of China’s most successful electric car and robot manufacturers.
That’s a single power line. China has 41 others. Each is capable of carrying more electricity than any utility transmission line in the United States. […]
But much of that clean energy is produced in the country’s sunny, windy western and northern regions, far from most of its people and factories. More than 90 percent of China’s 1.4 billion people live in the east, where cloudy days, windless nights and sluggish rivers limit the potential for clean energy. […]
Xu Shicai, a farm manager in Xuchong, a village next to lines that pass within 30 yards of homes, expressed concern.
“When you hold an umbrella in the rain, sparks will fly from it, and you’ll feel numb,” he said. “When fishing, it’s hard to hold the pole under the wires, as your hands feel very numb.”
The village’s small fish pond lies directly under the power lines. A “no fishing” sign has a cartoon of a skeleton being electrocuted and a graphic photo of a badly burned man who was apparently electrocuted. […]
Mr. Xu said he accepted the power line because it was an important national project, but he worried it might scare off visitors. “I’m used to it now,” he said. “But honestly, we don’t want more lines built here.”
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