5 ms·

China starts UHV power line: The new 700 km UHV line will transmit 8M kW

40 points by taubek 9mo ago

juancn 9mo ago
8M kW? Isn't that 8GW? That's more than 6 DeLorean Time Machines worth of power! (~6.6 at 1.21 gigawatts per flux capacitor)
- cayleyh 9mo ago
  DTM is my new preferred power generation measurement unit :D thank you!
allears 9mo ago
Now that the US has abdicated world leadership in so many areas, it's good to see China pushing the envelope.
- toomuchtodo 9mo ago
  They’re the first electrostate, and their success is our global success as their innovation and exports destroy the demand for fossil fuels globally. Ember Energy: China Cleantech Exports Data Explorer - https://ember-energy.org/data/china-cleantech-exports-data-explorer/ https://ember-energy.org/data/china-cleantech-exports-data-e... (updated monthly) China’s Oil Hoarding Clouds Outlook for Slowing Demand Growth - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-11/china-oil-stockpiling-masks-outlook-for-slowing-demand-growth https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-11/china-oil... | https://archive.today/YLDHL https://archive.today/YLDHL - December 11th, 2025 > China’s oil demand growth is forecast to be 150,000 barrels a day next year, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Energy Aspects was the most bullish, expecting daily growth at 320,000 barrels, mainly on rising petrochemical demand. Still, the prediction is a year-on-year drop. > “It’s an irreversible path,” said Ye Lin, vice president of oil markets at consultancy Rystad Energy, which also forecasts demand growth falling in 2026. “The market is now feeling the impact of China’s fast-growing EV fleet.” Rhodium Group: Electric Trucks and the Future of Chinese Oil Demand - https://rhg.com/research/electric-trucks-and-the-future-of-chinese-oil-demand/ https://rhg.com/research/electric-trucks-and-the-future-of-c... - July 1st, 2025 > Analysts have been discussing “peak oil” for decades. We’re hardly equipped to wade into that debate ourselves, even as Chinese demand will be a critical variable in future global oil demand. But the ongoing electrification of China’s vehicle fleet, especially in trucking, suggests long-term headwinds to diesel and gasoline demand. We estimate the total electric vehicle fleet is already displacing over 1 million barrels per day in implied oil demand—equivalent to roughly the daily oil production of Oman. That level is likely to rise by around 600,000 barrels per day over the next 12 months. (TLDR At current electrification rates, China is destroying ~1M barrels/day of oil demand every 24 months) HN Search: china electrostate - https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=china%20electrostate&sort=byDate&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... HN Search: china renewables - https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=china%20renewables&sort=byDate&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
  - SoftTalker 9mo ago
    Would be humorous in retrospect if all the dire forecasts about "peak oil" turned out to be the opposite problem: collapse in demand for oil.
    - toomuchtodo 9mo ago
      Can you expound? A problem in demand for oil for whom (besides perhaps petro states that cannot meet their budgets at low global oil prices [1] [2])? [1] https://i.ibb.co/0jDyB6mX/Crude-Price-Forecasts-Are-Below-Levels-Needed-for-Budgets.png https://i.ibb.co/0jDyB6mX/Crude-Price-Forecasts-Are-Below-Le... [2] https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts/ https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts/
      - SoftTalker 9mo ago
        Yeah, any major economic change can be destabilizing. Particularly if there are powerful incumbents who want to maintain the status quo. We fought a civil war over that sort of thing. So a "problem" in that sense, not that it wasn't the right thing to do.
    - jacquesm 9mo ago
      That would be one of the better outcomes because there are a number of things for which it is very hard to use other stuff as a substitute. Oil is way too precious to be burned up.
    - seanmcdirmid 9mo ago
      China doesn't have much oil. There dependency on oil is a huge weakness, and they are easily blockaded as well, making the problem of importing oil in wartime problematic as well. Their move away from oil is more national security even if it does help the environment.
      - palmotea 9mo ago
        > There dependency on oil is a huge weakness, and they are easily blockaded as well, making the problem of importing oil in wartime problematic as well. How are they "easily blockaded"? I thought their shipbuilding capacity exceeds that of the US, and their navy is now larger.
- christkv 9mo ago
  China is pushing this because they have an oil problem. They are deeply dependent on oil that ships via sea and any conflict could quickly starve them of access to oil. Thus a focus on trying to get some energy independence.
nubinetwork 9mo ago
Such a weird numbering scheme... 8 million kilowatts is 8 gigawatts.
- DiabloD3 9mo ago
  kW happens to be the unit of sale for power (well, technically, the kWh), so it ironically makes sense to use it here.
  - trvz 9mo ago
    Anyone sending and receiving power through this project doesn't deal in kW.
  - jacquesm 9mo ago
    At scale that isn't true, it is either MW or GW for instantaneous power and MWh or GWh for energy.
  - tuetuopay 9mo ago
    At grid scales, kW is a rounding error. Even MW is somewhat the decimal place, especially for a country as large as China.
    - deleted 9mo ago
      [deleted]
  - dbeardsl 9mo ago
    "Technically"? It's just wrong and I'm not sure which they were intending. Similarly, "miles and miles per hour are different units, it's not just a technical distinction. A journalist is reporting on something they don't understand.
    - seydor 9mo ago
      are people charged for kW only? it's not like internet connections
  - 9mo ago
1970-01-01 9mo ago
This is good news as they're still burning inexcusable amounts of coal to keep up with demand.
jacquesm 9mo ago
HV interconnects are a key component in reducing fossil fuel dependence and they to a very large degree offset the need for battery storage if used properly.
rdtsc 9mo ago
> Ultra-high voltage lines operate at voltages above 800 kV for direct current or 1,000 kV for alternating current, Interesting, I thought above a certain distance DC is more viable. Or are they just describing the UHV term in general, not really that particular 700km line.
- pwrsysengineer 9mo ago
  Ultra-high voltage is an industry term. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_voltage#Definition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_voltage#Definition > ANSI C84.1-2020 defines high voltage as 115 kV to 230 kV, extra-high voltage as 345 kV to 765 kV, and ultra-high voltage as 1,100 kV.
scblock 9mo ago
China has completed a number of these projects and has several in construction. I am not able to directly confirm but this appears to be a DC line. There's a decent high level summary on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-voltage_electricity_transmission_in_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-voltage_electricity...
kens 9mo ago
The journal Science has an interesting article on China's remarkable shift to renewable energy: "China’s turn to green energy dwarfs any other country’s, as a parade of astonishing numbers attests. In 2024 alone it installed new solar and wind generation equivalent to roughly 100 nuclear power plants, and the pace quickened early this year. Dozens of new, ultrahigh-voltage power lines are marching thousands of kilometers from western deserts where much of the solar energy is generated to the eastern cities where it is used. Hungrily awaiting the bounty of clean energy are millions of electric cars and a sprawling network of high-speed electric trains that can zip between cities 1000 kilometers apart in a morning." The article also mentions that China produced more than 12 million electric cars in 2024, 70% of global production. "China now dominates global production of renewable energy technologies. It makes 80% of the world’s solar cells, 70% of its wind turbines, and 70% of its lithium batteries, at prices no competitor can match." https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/science.aee8001 https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/science.aee8001
- ciconia 9mo ago
  Meanwhile the US is all about "drill baby drill", and the EU is still hedging its bets. Say what you will about the Chinese regime but they seem to be much more pragmatic and forward thinking than western democracies.
  - Arn_Thor 9mo ago
    I much prefer democracy (the lack of large scale human rights abuses is a big plus) but one can't argue that with the fact that a multi-generational one-party system CAN encourage a refreshing degree of long-term thinking. This is a good example. (Of course, examples abound of the opposite--also in China)
    - xg15 9mo ago
      > (the lack of large scale human rights abuses is a big plus) Inside the country at least...
      - 9mo ago
MrGuts 9mo ago
And this is why China is the future, and the US is Argentina.

40 points by taubek 9mo ago

8M kW? Isn't that 8GW? That's more than 6 DeLorean Time Machines worth of power! (~6.6 at 1.21 gigawatts per flux capacitor)

cayleyh 9mo ago
DTM is my new preferred power generation measurement unit :D thank you!

allears 9mo ago

Now that the US has abdicated world leadership in so many areas, it's good to see China pushing the envelope.

toomuchtodo 9mo ago
They’re the first electrostate, and their success is our global success as their innovation and exports destroy the demand for fossil fuels globally. Ember Energy: China Cleantech Exports Data Explorer - https://ember-energy.org/data/china-cleantech-exports-data-explorer/ https://ember-energy.org/data/china-cleantech-exports-data-e... (updated monthly) China’s Oil Hoarding Clouds Outlook for Slowing Demand Growth - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-11/china-oil-stockpiling-masks-outlook-for-slowing-demand-growth https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-11/china-oil... | https://archive.today/YLDHL https://archive.today/YLDHL - December 11th, 2025 > China’s oil demand growth is forecast to be 150,000 barrels a day next year, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Energy Aspects was the most bullish, expecting daily growth at 320,000 barrels, mainly on rising petrochemical demand. Still, the prediction is a year-on-year drop. > “It’s an irreversible path,” said Ye Lin, vice president of oil markets at consultancy Rystad Energy, which also forecasts demand growth falling in 2026. “The market is now feeling the impact of China’s fast-growing EV fleet.” Rhodium Group: Electric Trucks and the Future of Chinese Oil Demand - https://rhg.com/research/electric-trucks-and-the-future-of-chinese-oil-demand/ https://rhg.com/research/electric-trucks-and-the-future-of-c... - July 1st, 2025 > Analysts have been discussing “peak oil” for decades. We’re hardly equipped to wade into that debate ourselves, even as Chinese demand will be a critical variable in future global oil demand. But the ongoing electrification of China’s vehicle fleet, especially in trucking, suggests long-term headwinds to diesel and gasoline demand. We estimate the total electric vehicle fleet is already displacing over 1 million barrels per day in implied oil demand—equivalent to roughly the daily oil production of Oman. That level is likely to rise by around 600,000 barrels per day over the next 12 months. (TLDR At current electrification rates, China is destroying ~1M barrels/day of oil demand every 24 months) HN Search: china electrostate - https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=china%20electrostate&sort=byDate&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... HN Search: china renewables - https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=china%20renewables&sort=byDate&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
- SoftTalker 9mo ago
  Would be humorous in retrospect if all the dire forecasts about "peak oil" turned out to be the opposite problem: collapse in demand for oil.
  - toomuchtodo 9mo ago
    Can you expound? A problem in demand for oil for whom (besides perhaps petro states that cannot meet their budgets at low global oil prices [1] [2])? [1] https://i.ibb.co/0jDyB6mX/Crude-Price-Forecasts-Are-Below-Levels-Needed-for-Budgets.png https://i.ibb.co/0jDyB6mX/Crude-Price-Forecasts-Are-Below-Le... [2] https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts/ https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts/
    - SoftTalker 9mo ago
      Yeah, any major economic change can be destabilizing. Particularly if there are powerful incumbents who want to maintain the status quo. We fought a civil war over that sort of thing. So a "problem" in that sense, not that it wasn't the right thing to do.
  - jacquesm 9mo ago
    That would be one of the better outcomes because there are a number of things for which it is very hard to use other stuff as a substitute. Oil is way too precious to be burned up.
  - seanmcdirmid 9mo ago
    China doesn't have much oil. There dependency on oil is a huge weakness, and they are easily blockaded as well, making the problem of importing oil in wartime problematic as well. Their move away from oil is more national security even if it does help the environment.
    - palmotea 9mo ago
      > There dependency on oil is a huge weakness, and they are easily blockaded as well, making the problem of importing oil in wartime problematic as well. How are they "easily blockaded"? I thought their shipbuilding capacity exceeds that of the US, and their navy is now larger.
christkv 9mo ago
China is pushing this because they have an oil problem. They are deeply dependent on oil that ships via sea and any conflict could quickly starve them of access to oil. Thus a focus on trying to get some energy independence.

nubinetwork 9mo ago

Such a weird numbering scheme... 8 million kilowatts is 8 gigawatts.

DiabloD3 9mo ago
kW happens to be the unit of sale for power (well, technically, the kWh), so it ironically makes sense to use it here.
- trvz 9mo ago
  Anyone sending and receiving power through this project doesn't deal in kW.
- jacquesm 9mo ago
  At scale that isn't true, it is either MW or GW for instantaneous power and MWh or GWh for energy.
- tuetuopay 9mo ago
  At grid scales, kW is a rounding error. Even MW is somewhat the decimal place, especially for a country as large as China.
  - deleted 9mo ago
    [deleted]
- dbeardsl 9mo ago
  "Technically"? It's just wrong and I'm not sure which they were intending. Similarly, "miles and miles per hour are different units, it's not just a technical distinction. A journalist is reporting on something they don't understand.
  - seydor 9mo ago
    are people charged for kW only? it's not like internet connections
- 9mo ago

1970-01-01 9mo ago

This is good news as they're still burning inexcusable amounts of coal to keep up with demand.

jacquesm 9mo ago

HV interconnects are a key component in reducing fossil fuel dependence and they to a very large degree offset the need for battery storage if used properly.

rdtsc 9mo ago

> Ultra-high voltage lines operate at voltages above 800 kV for direct current or 1,000 kV for alternating current, Interesting, I thought above a certain distance DC is more viable. Or are they just describing the UHV term in general, not really that particular 700km line.

pwrsysengineer 9mo ago
Ultra-high voltage is an industry term. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_voltage#Definition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_voltage#Definition > ANSI C84.1-2020 defines high voltage as 115 kV to 230 kV, extra-high voltage as 345 kV to 765 kV, and ultra-high voltage as 1,100 kV.

scblock 9mo ago

China has completed a number of these projects and has several in construction. I am not able to directly confirm but this appears to be a DC line. There's a decent high level summary on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-voltage_electricity_transmission_in_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-voltage_electricity...

kens 9mo ago

The journal Science has an interesting article on China's remarkable shift to renewable energy: "China’s turn to green energy dwarfs any other country’s, as a parade of astonishing numbers attests. In 2024 alone it installed new solar and wind generation equivalent to roughly 100 nuclear power plants, and the pace quickened early this year. Dozens of new, ultrahigh-voltage power lines are marching thousands of kilometers from western deserts where much of the solar energy is generated to the eastern cities where it is used. Hungrily awaiting the bounty of clean energy are millions of electric cars and a sprawling network of high-speed electric trains that can zip between cities 1000 kilometers apart in a morning." The article also mentions that China produced more than 12 million electric cars in 2024, 70% of global production. "China now dominates global production of renewable energy technologies. It makes 80% of the world’s solar cells, 70% of its wind turbines, and 70% of its lithium batteries, at prices no competitor can match." https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/science.aee8001 https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/science.aee8001

ciconia 9mo ago
Meanwhile the US is all about "drill baby drill", and the EU is still hedging its bets. Say what you will about the Chinese regime but they seem to be much more pragmatic and forward thinking than western democracies.
- Arn_Thor 9mo ago
  I much prefer democracy (the lack of large scale human rights abuses is a big plus) but one can't argue that with the fact that a multi-generational one-party system CAN encourage a refreshing degree of long-term thinking. This is a good example. (Of course, examples abound of the opposite--also in China)
  - xg15 9mo ago
    > (the lack of large scale human rights abuses is a big plus) Inside the country at least...
    - 9mo ago

MrGuts 9mo ago

And this is why China is the future, and the US is Argentina.