A new web of 42 ultrahigh-voltage lines now moves wind and solar power from China’s far western deserts to its crowded eastern coast. (NYT)
The longest line runs 2K miles, carrying enough electricity for ~50M homes with barely any loss, thanks to direct-current tech few other countries have mastered.
These “power highways” feed China’s surging EV market and 30K miles of electric rail, helping renewables top 25% of national generation and driving a 40% drop in air pollution since 2014.
The US has struggled to build something similar because of landowner opposition, red tape, and political gridlock—perhaps best exemplified by the DOE’s July decision to terminate its $4.9B loan guarantee for the Grain Belt Express, an 800-mile line from Kansas to Illinois.