China’s massive project to funnel clean energy from Tibet enters new phase
The ultra-high-voltage power lines will connect Tibet’s vast hydropower, solar and wind projects with factory hubs in southern China
China has kicked off construction on the southern section of the Tibet-Guangdong ultra-high-voltage power transmission line, an ambitious scheme to channel vast amounts of green energy generated high in the mountains of western China to factory hubs along the country’s south coast.
The transmission line will stretch from the Tibetan Plateau to the megacities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the south, passing through high-altitude areas and permafrost zones to form what Chinese officials have described as a “heavenly route for green power”.
Construction on the project kicked off in September, and on Tuesday work began on the Guangdong section of the line, the state-run People’s Daily reported. The entire project is due to be completed in 2029.
Once online, it will deliver more than 43 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year from a renewable energy base in the Tibet autonomous region to Guangdong province, which should enable the region to reduce its coal consumption by about 12 million tonnes, according to China Southern Power Grid, one of the project’s developers.