It was suspended in the Hubei province due to the outbreak.

The Chinese power transmission network operator State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) resumed construction on the 800kV, 800MW ultra-high voltage (UHV) direct current (DC) power transmission project between Yulin, Shaanxi province and Wuhan, Hubei province.

Construction works had been suspended in the Hubei province, the epicentre of the global coronavirus pandemic. The new line is expected to start operations in 2021.

The $2.6b (CNY18.5b) project will include nearly 3,000 km of UHVDC power lines, with a total transmission capacity of 14GW. This will allow SGCC to deliver 40 TWh/year of electricity from Shaanxi—whose coal reserves are estimated at 270 Gt (12% of the national reserves)—to Hubei, where electricity demand is rising rapidly.

In addition, SGCC has awarded several orders to ABB to supply advanced HVDC converter transformers and equipment for three 800 kV UHVDC transmission lines, which will each be able to transport up to 8,000MW of electricity: the 1,700-km-long Yazhong-Nanchang project between the Sichuan province and the Jiangxi province, which is part of China’s West-East Electricity Transmission initiative; the 1,100-km-long Shaanbei-Wuhan line; and the 1,500 km-long Qinghai-Henan project.