UHV corridors set to scale up nation's power transmission capacity

China is set to significantly expand its cross-country power transmission capacity to 420 gigawatts by 2030, the National Energy Administration said, as the world's second-largest economy advances the strategic modernization of its electrical grid to harness a massive influx of renewable energy.

The ambitious target is part of a strategic roadmap to build a "new power system" that is clean, secure and efficient, it said.

Before 2030, China aims to have non-fossil fuel sources account for roughly 30 percent of its total electricity generation, supported by a grid capable of integrating 900 GW of distributed solar and wind power.

The NEA noted that China's grid has already evolved into the world's largest and most advanced network in terms of transmission capacity, voltage levels and renewable integration.

West-to-east transmission capacity in China was 340 GW in 2025, meeting approximately 23 percent of the nation's peak demand in 2025, it said.

Beyond sheer scale, the 2030 plan emphasizes "inter-provincial mutual aid", with an additional 40 GW of capacity dedicated to sharing power between provinces during peak loads or weather-driven shortages.

The government also plans to support the rollout of over 40 million electric vehicle charging units, integrating the transport sector into the broader energy ecosystem.

"The grid is evolving from a traditional one-way transmission network into a multi-directional, hybrid structure," said Zhang Lin, director of planning and development at the China Electricity Council.

Strengthening the interaction between the backbone grid, distribution networks and microgrids is essential for supporting new energy business models and ensuring they can participate equally in power markets, said Zhang.

State Grid Corp of China, the nation's primary utility, said its fixed-asset investment rose to a record high of around over 650 billion yuan ($93.08 billion) in 2025. This brings total investment during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–25) to more than 2.85 trillion yuan, it said.

Industry experts believe ultrahigh voltage technology serves as the critical "super-highway" system that enables China to reconcile the massive geographical gap between its western energy bases and eastern demand centers.

By scaling up transmission capacity by 2030, UHV corridors will act as the primary conduit for the country's vast wind and solar resources, particularly those located in remote Gobi and desert regions, they say.

Ye Xiaoning, a senior engineer at the new energy department of the State Grid Energy Research Institute, noted that China's continuous commitment to grid modernization and transmission expansion has fundamentally enhanced the country's ability to balance and optimize renewable energy assets on a national scale.

China recently broke ground on an ultra-high voltage transmission project, a key green artery designed to transmit massive amounts of renewable energy from the western parts of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region to the industrial heartland of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province.

The 17.2 billion yuan project, spanning 700 kilometers with a transmission capacity of 8 million kilowatts, is expected to be put into operation by 2027, said its operator, State Grid Corp of China.

The national strategy is also yielding results in the southern parts of the country. China Southern Power Grid reported that its west-to-east transmission volume hit a record 261.5 billion kilowatt-hours in 2025, up 31 billion kWh from 2020.

Over the past five years, CSG's cross-regional channels delivered a cumulative 1.14 trillion kWh, effectively replacing 330 million metric tons of coal and preventing 860 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

To safeguard energy security, utilities are moving toward market-oriented frameworks. This includes organizing flexible mid-to-long-term inter-provincial trading and routine power exchanges across different operating zones.

The NEA added that it will continue to prioritize the construction of cross-provincial transmission corridors, optimize the structure of the main backbone grid, and develop intelligent microgrids tailored to local conditions.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn