The world’s first ultra-high-voltage power superhighway for transmitting clean energy in China started began operation on July 15.

Workers check the installation of fittings of the 750 kV Hele section of the 800±kV direct current transmission line between northwest China’s Qinghai province and central China’s Henan province. (Photo by Wang Guodong/Chinanews.com)

The 800±kV direct current transmission line extends 1,587 km across four provinces, from the Qinghai plateau in the northwest to Henan in central China, according to its developer, State Grid Corp. of China. The construction of the project began on Nov. 7, 2018.

Qinghai has large hydropower, wind power and solar power capacity, reaching 21.9 million, 75 million and 3 billion kilowatts, respectively.

The project is expected to transmit 40 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity to central China each year, which will help overcome the imbalance between demand and supply of electricity and improve air quality in the region.