A huge power grid transmitting nuclear energy has been launched in China
In China, the Yantai-Weihai ultra-high voltage alternating current power transmission line has been fully commissioned. According to the country's State Grid Corporation, this is the world's first such network connected to power generated at nuclear power plants.
A major power grid transmitting nuclear energy has been commissioned in China
According to Naked Science, the new line is designed to deliver electricity generated in the Yantai and Weihai regions of Shandong province to other regions.
The single-circuit equivalent length of the line is 1,197 kilometers. It passes through the territories of the cities of Yantai, Qingdao, Rizhao, Weifang, and Linyi.
As part of the project, a new distribution substation with a voltage of 1,000 kilovolts, that is, one million volts, was constructed, and two existing substations of the same category were expanded.
Additionally, 2,124 transmission towers were installed. 822 of them are located in hilly and mountainous areas, and another 17 are situated in sea waters.
Shandong is one of China's most energy-consuming provinces. By the end of September 2026, the installed capacity of non-fossil fuel energy facilities here reached 147 million kilowatts. Wind and solar power accounted for 132 million kilowatts — more than half of the total installed capacity of the province's power plants.
Much of Shandong's nuclear power is concentrated on the Yantai–Weihai peninsula. The region is turning from a area that mainly receives electricity from the outside into a major hub delivering it to other places.
The new line was connected to the existing grid, forming a system consisting of two loops resembling the number "eight." This is China's first regional ultra-high-voltage grid with such a structure.
The loops can serve as backups for each other. This expands power transmission capabilities and increases grid stability in the event of system failures.
The project is also notable for being the first ultra-high-voltage line in China constructed simultaneously through a mountainous region and sea waters. The active construction period lasted 12 months — recorded as the shortest timeframe for alternating current transmission projects of this category and similar scale in the country.
Meanwhile, the Haiyan-Xi distribution substation was built on the principle of "two stations in one yard." In the future, 12 outgoing lines with a voltage of 1,000 kilovolts are planned to be set up from it.