Hami-Chongqing Project Transmits First Power
On the morning of June 10, 2025, the Hami-Chongqing ±800kV Ultra-High Voltage Direct Current (UHVDC) transmission project in China started transferring power for the first time. The transmission line stretches over 2,260 kilometers from the Balikun converter station in Hami, Xinjiang, to the Yubei converter station in Chongqing, and is now operational.
The Hami-Chongqing UHVDC project operates at ±800 kV and has a rated capacity of 8,000 MW, utilizing the “double 800” UHVDC standard. The transmission line traverses Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Chongqing, with a total investment of 28.6 billion yuan (approximately $3.9 billion USD). The project is supported by a 14.2 GW generation base, with more than 10.2 GW sourced from wind, photovoltaic, and solar thermal energy—over 70% of the total—originating from Xinjiang’s Gobi base. Annually, the line is expected to deliver over 36 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to Chongqing’s load center.
The project wass approved in July 2023, construction began in August 2023, and commissioning was achieved in June 2025, meaning the entire process from groundbreaking to operation took just 22 months. The engineering challenges were considerable, as the route crosses deserts, mountains, saline soils, and high-wind regions. To address these, the project team introduced several technical innovations, including newly designed jumper strings and multi-degree-of-freedom pitch adjustment wire clamps for wind-prone areas, silane impregnation anti-corrosion technology for strong corrosion zones, and gravel curtain stripping and restoration for Gobi gravel soils to mitigate erosion.
Strategically, the Hami-Chongqing project enables the reliable transmission of 8 GW of new energy from Xinjiang, forming part of a “two-cross, three-direct” transmission corridor with a total scale exceeding 30 GW. This greatly enhances interregional grid balancing across Northwest, Central, East, and Southwest China. The project also facilitates the large-scale integration of renewables and is expected to reduce annual coal consumption by 6 million tons and CO₂ emissions by 16 million tons. In addition, it underpins the high-quality development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle and supports rural revitalization and regional growth in western China.
Senior officials from Xinjiang and Chongqing, as well as leadership from State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), attended the launch ceremony, highlighting the project’s national strategic significance. Zhang Zhigang, Chairman of SGCC, highlighted the role of the Hami-Chongqing UHVDC in accelerating the transformation of Xinjiang’s resource advantages into economic benefits and supporting China’s dual carbon goals.
