Investment of $488b set for UHV power lines

China's State Grid President Liu Zhengya declared that the company will invest more than 3 trillion yuan ($488 billion) in ultra-high voltage power line construction in the next eight years, Securities Daily reported on May 15.

The UHV power lines, dubbed "power corridors," are designed to connect China's disparate regional grids and help resolve China's geographical energy imbalance. These improvements are widely expected to help transmission of wind energy and solar power.

UHV power-related shares surged on May 15. Shenzhen-based Maxonic Automation Control and Wuhan-based Tianyu Information Industry both hit their daily maximum share-price increases that morning.

Earlier media reports said China has the world's largest wind power capacity, but a third of it is idle because of transmission problems. State Grid said that UHV lines can absorb the intermittent power from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, which would help China's efforts to fight pollution.