The West-to-East Power Transmission Project is a major measure taken by China to implement the Western Development Strategy and transform the resource advantages of the western region into economic advantages. It is a landmark project and a backbone project for the Western Development. It consists of three major corridors in the south, central and north. From 2010 to 2010, the total investment is expected to be over 530 billion yuan (excluding the Three Gorges Power Station). The South Passage refers to the development of hydropower in the southwest and thermal power in Yunnan and Guizhou, and the corresponding construction of transmission projects to jointly transmit power to Guangdong. The middle channel refers to the extension of the power transmission network to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River with the power transmission from the Three Gorges as the leader, realizing the joint transmission of power from Sichuan, Chongqing and Central China to East China and Guangdong. The North Passage refers to the gradual realization of hydropower from the upper reaches of the Yellow River and thermal power from the "Three West" areas to North China and Shandong based on the transmission of power from the northwestern Shanxi and western Inner Mongolia to the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan region. As of the end of 2008, the power transmission capacity of the three major channels for power transmission from west to east has reached 63,180 MW, including 20,280 MW in the south channel, 17,500 MW in the middle channel, and 25,500 MW in the north channel.
During the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period, the state approved the construction of the second batch of west-to-east power transmission projects, including the Guangxi Hongshuihe Longtan Hydropower Station with an installed capacity of 4,200 MW and the North Passage Thermal Power Project. The west-to-east power transmission channel adds 1,000 MW of power to Guangdong. Among them, 700 MW is transmitted to Guangdong in Yunnan and Guizhou, and 3,000 MW is transmitted to Guangdong from the Three Gorges and Central China regions. An 8,000 MW power supply project has been completed and Guizhou to Guangdong, the Three Gorges and Guangdong 500kV AC and DC transmission projects, of which the Tianguang 500kV DC transmission project was completed and put into operation, creating a precedent for the mixed operation of China's large-capacity AC and DC transmission system. As the units of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station were put into operation one after another, the Central Channel added 4,200 MW of power to East China and 3,000 MW of power to Guangdong. Transmission projects such as the Three Gorges to East China and Sichuan-East power transmission were completed, and the Sichuan-Chongqing power grid and the Central China power grid were interconnected. . The North Passage newly added 5000 MW to the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangzhou and Hebei South Network, including 3000 MW in Mengxi and 2,000 MW in Shanxi, built from Mengxi to Jingjintang, Shanxi to Jingjintang and Shanxi to Shandong 500 kV AC line.
At the end of 2007, the second dual-pole ±500kV DC transmission project from Guizhou to Guangdong was completed and put into operation, marking the formation of 10 large channels of 500kV west-to-east power transmission from China Southern Power Grid. This project is China's first independent DC transmission project. The comprehensive autonomy rate of system research, complete design, and main equipment manufacturing has reached more than 70%, marking an important breakthrough in the localization of major technical equipment in my country's power industry.
The west-to-east power transmission converts the energy resources in the west into electric energy, and at the same time provides a broad market for the power in the west. It can not only promote the development of the power industry in the west, increase the utilization rate of energy, but also effectively improve the energy consumption structure in the west. Promoting the construction of the ecological environment in the western region is conducive to returning farmland to forests and soil and water conservation. The development of electric power in the western region can also drive the development of related industries, especially high energy-consuming industries such as metallurgy and chemical industry; power transmission from west to east can change the inadequate power supply and unreasonable power structure in the eastern region, and alleviate it to a certain extent The increasing pressure on environmental protection in the east has provided the east with clean, high-quality, reliable and cheap energy. The implementation of "West-to-East Power Transmission" is an objective requirement for China's resource distribution and productivity layout, and it is also an important measure to turn the resource advantage of the western region into an economic advantage and promote the common economic development of the eastern and western regions.
