wiredinUSA August 2019

Cross country power

Capacity growth on ASC

Photo by paul silvan on Unsplash

Mark Callander

Vocus says its ASC (Australian Singapore cable) system is now operating with a total capacity of 60Tbps, 50 percent more than when it launched. The ASC system was switched on in September 2018, nine days ahead of its scheduled opening, because of a major disruption on the Sea-Me-We3 submarine cable between Perth and Singapore. It has four fiber pairs offering various connection points on its 4,600km run between Perth and Singapore, and extending to Christmas Island and Indonesia. A statement from Vocus added that the Singapore to Indonesia stretch had a capacity of up to 44Tbps while the Perth to Indonesia connection had 33Tbps. Mark Callander, Vocus chief executive, wholesale, said with the Asia Pacific region continuing to be the epicenter of global growth, the ASC can provide valuable opportunities for governments, businesses and consumers for years to come.

China has launched its longest extra- high voltage (EHV) power transmission line, connecting the far western region of Xinjiang with the eastern province of Anhui. The 3,324km (2,065 mile) 1,100kV line is designed to transmit 66 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year. The project aims to help meet increasing power demand in industrialized eastern regions and reduce the amount of wasted electricity in the west. Most of the electricity transmitted via the line will come from the Zhundong coal-fired power plant in northern Xinjiang, which has an installed power generation capacity of 28GW. As part of Beijing’s anti-pollution campaign, new coal-fired power utilities have been banned in the smog-prone east of the country. China has been promoting cross-region EHV transmission lines as they have bigger transmission capacity and lower line losses, compared to ordinary lines. According to the State Grid Corporation of China the country had 18 EHV lines, with an overall transmission length of 27,570km, at the end of June 2019. The national energy administration last September approved 12 EHV transmission projects, aiming to bring electricity generated by renewable power plants in western China to the east and central regions.

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wiredInUSA - August 2019