The world's longest power transmission lines
High voltage direct current (HVDC) has emerged as a preferred transmission technology for long-distance bulk power supply. Brazil owns three of the longest transmission lines in the world. MBT Transformer lists the longest-running transmission lines.
Table of Contents
1. Belo Monte-Rio de Janeiro transmission line, Brazil - 2.539km
2. Rio Madeira transmission link - 2.375km
3. Belo Monte-Estreito transmission line, Brazil – 2,092km
4. Jinping-Sunan transmission line, China - 2.090km
5. Xiangjiaba-Shanghai transmission line, China - 1.980km
6. Inga-Kolwezi transmission line, Congo - 1.700km
7. Talcher-Kolar transmission link, India - 1.450km
1. Belo Monte-Rio de Janeiro transmission line, Brazil - 2.539km
The 2,539-kilometer Belo Monte-Rio de Janeiro line in Brazil is an 800kV super-high-voltage direct current (UHVDC) line that transmits electricity from the 11.2GW Belo Monte hydroelectric plant located in Para to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Construction of the power transmission line, also known as the Belo Monte UHVDC Bipole II line, was commenced in September 2017 and completed in April 2019. The overhead transmission line, which has transmission towers taller than 105m, passes through 80 cities along its route from the Amazon to Brazil's southeast coast. The line has two power conversion stations and can transmit 4GW power with a value of 2.14 billion USD.
The Belo Monte-Rio de Janeiro line was built by the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China. This is the second 800kV UHVDC line built and operated by SGCC in Brazil, after the Belo Monte UHVDC Bipole I line, completed at the end of 2017.
2. Rio Madeira transmission link - 2.375km
The Rio Madeira transmission link in Brazil is a 600kV direct current (HVDC) high voltage bipolar line put into operation in November 2013. It is capable of transmitting a capacity of 7.1GW.
The Rio Madeira HVDC link transmits power from the Santo Antônio and Jirau hydroelectric plants on the Madeira riverbank in northwestern Brazil to major load centers in southeastern Brazil. It connects the Porto Velho Collector Transformer Station in the state of Rondonia with the Araraquara-2 Transformer Station in the state of São Paulo.
The Rio Madeira line system in Brazil
The HVDC transmission line was built in 24 months by Interligação Elétrica do Madeira (IE Madeira), a consortium consisting of three major Brazilian energy suppliers. ABB has supplied power equipment to three HVDC stations. Alstom provided two HVDC bipolar converter stations and four HVDC power conversion transformers for the project.
3. Belo Monte-Estreito transmission line, Brazil – 2,092km
The Belo Monte - Estreito line, also known as the Belo Monte UHVDC Bipole I line, was the first 800kV UHVDC line built to supply electricity from the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant in northern Brazil to southeastern Brazil.
Opened in December 2017, the 2,092 km long UHVDC service originates from Xingu in Para and ends at Estreito in Minas Gerais. The Belo Monte UHVDC Bipole I line is capable of transmitting 4GW power.
The Belo Monte-Estreito UHVDC line is owned and operated by Belo Monte Transmissora de Energia (BMTE), a company specializing in purposes, including the State Grid Corporation of China (51%), Fumas (24, 5%), and Eletronorte (24.5%). Fumas and Eletronorte are Brazilian state-owned subsidiaries of Eletrobras.
4. Jinping-Sunan transmission line, China - 2.090km
The Jinping-Sunan transmission link in China is an 800kV UHVDC power transmission line owned by SGCC, and the 7.2GW transmission line was put into operation in December 2012.
The line travels through eight provinces of China to transmit electricity generated from the Guandi, Jinping, and Sichuan hydroelectric plants located on the Yalong River in central-western Sichuan province to the industrialized coastal area Jiangsu province in eastern China. The alternating voltage at both ends of the line is 525kV.
5. Xiangjiaba-Shanghai transmission line, China - 1.980km
Xiangjiaba - Shanghai line with an overhead length of 1,980km, is an 800kV line, with a capacity of 6400W capable of transmitting up to 7.2GW, led by the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) private. The world's first UHVDC transmission, the commercial operation started in July 2010.
The transformer belongs to the Xiangjiaba - Shanghai line
The Xiangjiaba - Shanghai link transmits power from the Xiangjiaba hydroelectric plant located in southwestern China to the country's major industrial and commercial center, Shanghai. The link consists of an overhead line and 28 high / super high voltage conversion transformers. The alternating voltage at both ends of the line is 525kV.
6. Inga-Kolwezi transmission line, Congo - 1.700km
Congo's 1,700-kilometer Inga-Kolwezi line, formerly known as the Inga-Shaba link, is a 500kV line with a nominal capacity of 560MW and a cost of $ 900 million. It is owned and operated by the national electric power company of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Société Nationale d'Electricité (Snel).
The Inga-Kolwezi HVDC link brings electricity from the Inga Falls hydropower station on the Congo River to the southeast Congo's Katanga copper mining site. Entered into service in 1982, this was the longest transmission line in the world at that time. The alternating voltage at both ends of the line is 220kV.
Key components of the project, including the conversion stations powered by ABB, have also been awarded line rehabilitation contracts with new thyristor valves, new high-voltage equipment, control systems, and New protection to improve line efficiency and reliability 2009.
7. Talcher-Kolar transmission link, India - 1.450km
Talcher-Kolar 500kV HVDC line is also known as the Southeast transmission link. It has a rated capacity of 2,500MW. Owned by the Power Grid Group of India, Talcher - Kolar was the second-longest transmission line globally at the time of commissioning in February 2003 with an investment of about 168 million pounds (220 million USD).
The Talcher - Kolar transmission link transmits electricity from the Talcher power generation center in the state of Orissa, eastern India, to Kolar near Bangalore, the capital city of the southern state of Karnataka. The bipolar transmission line could transmit 2,000 MW at the operation time but was upgraded to 2,500MW in 2007. Siemens has built conversion stations for the Talcher-Kolar HVDC link.
