State Grid Corporate China, the largest state-owned electric utility company in the world will build two 500 kV substations in Zhejiang and Anhui provinces that will serve a combined population of more than 50 million.
Electricity consumption in these two provinces are growing at a rapid pace. Zhejiang is one of the economic powerhouses in the coastal province of the Yangtze River with fast industrialization and urbanization. Under the Zhejiang Power Development Project, the transmission network expansion and reinforcement will add 400 circuit km of 500 kV transmission lines1 .While Anhui is relatively slower in modernization, "Anhui power to the East" program, introduced in the mid-2000s has turned the province into a major power supplier2.
These two substations will play a part to help meet the rapidly expanding electricity demand once in operations in 2015. Featuring the innovative ELK-3 hybrid switchgear 550 kV from ABB, this technology will be the first of its kind in Anhui province. The ELK hybrid solution combines the advantages of encapsulated technology with the simplicity of air-insulated switchgear (AIS) solutions. With quick delivery and installation, it enables up to 70 percent space reduction compared to AIS.
ABB has been supplying gas-insulated switchgears to SGCC since year 2000 with recent projects that feature hybrid technology being Hubei Jingxia, Henan Zhengzhou and Shanxi Hazheng.
Photo by eutrophication&hypoxia | cropped, adujsted the color balance, shadown and brightness | CC www.flickr.com
1 World Bank, Zhejiang Power Development Project report
2 US Environmental Protection Agency, China's Energy Markets
