The World’s Longest Transmission Lines



Some of the world’s largest power plants are in some of the most remote locations compared to where the electricity they generate is consumed. The technology of choice for many of these lines is HVDC or High Voltage Direct Current, which allows the electricity generated to be supplied up to hundreds of kilometers away. As the technology is not inexpensive, and requires a stable reliable generation supply in order to be effective.
With increasing power demands and strain on electricity systems, developing High, and Ultra High Voltage power lines is only set to increase as new generation projects come online. As population centers are usually located far from hydro-electric plants, it is no surprise that most of the long-distance projects supply power from these dams to large population centers.
Rio Madeira transmission link, Brazil
Coming in at 2,385km, the Rio Madeira Transmission Link in Brazil tops the chart as the world’s longest. Supplying power from the Santo Antônio and Jiaru Hydropower plants to population centers in South-Eastern Brazil with a total of 7,100 MW capacity thanks to two back-to-back converters.
Jinping-Sunan transmission line, China
Many of China’s power infrastructure projects are quickly becoming the world’s largest. With a population over 1 billion, China’s need for reliable electricity is rapidly growing. The 7,200MW, 2,090km Jinping-Sunan transmission line supplies power from three hydroelectric power plants on the yalong river to the costal Jiangsu province.
Xiangjiaba-Shanghai transmission line, China
Another mega-transmission project in China, this 1,980km link supplies power to China’s second largest city, Shanghai. The 24.15million residents of Shanghai can thank this 7,200MW link for some of the power that they consume. ABB was able to construct this link in 30 months starting in 2007.
Inga-Kolwezi transmission line, Congo

When it comes to electricity generation and delivery, many African countries are grossly undersupplied. One of the oldest lines on this list, the Inga-Kolwezi transmission line was completed in 1982 and saw a modernisation in 2009. Used primarily for industrial purposes, the line supplies power to the copper mining districts in the South-East of Congo. 

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