The multi-terminal ultra-high voltage (UHV) flexible direct current (DC) project which is transmitting power from the Wudongde hydropower station in Southwest China's Yunnan Province to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guangdong Province was placed in operation on 27 December 2020, six months ahead of schedule.

The project – constructed by China Southern Power Grid – is China's first multi-terminal UHV DC demonstration project and the world's first UHV flexible DC project. It has the world's highest voltage and largest transmission capacity.

Approved by the National Development and Reform Commission in March 2018, the project is equipped with the ±800kV UHV three-terminal hybrid DC system and can transmit as much as 8 million kilowatts of power.

With a total investment of nearly 3.71 billio), the project starts from the Kunbei convertor station in Yunnan and passes Guizhou, Guangxi and Guangdong, winding 1452km through mountains and across rivers.

The project is expected to transmit 33 billion kWh of power annually, equalling the annual power consumption of Hainan Province. It will improve hydropower utilization in Yunnan and supply power for economic development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Hydropower utilization in Yunnan is predicted to reach more than 99% by the end of 2020 thanks to the Wudongde hydropower station.

At 10.2GW Wudongde hydropower plant ranks seventh in the world and fourth in China in terms of installed capacity. It is a multipurpose project providing flood protection, inland navigation and promoting local social and economic development in addition to generating clean power.