Chinese engineers solved green energy transmission problem with domestic electronics
At a converter station in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, the electricity arriving at the station travels more than 2,000 kilometres from northwestern Gansu Province, across deserts and vast wilderness. To transmit such a large amount of electricity over such a distance without significant losses, the transmission voltage must be raised to ±800 kilovolts. But compared with other projects of similar scale, this one faces an additional challenge — the electricity comes from renewable sources.
The wind blows when it pleases, and the sun can hide behind clouds, so renewable energy output can fluctuate sharply. And if wind and solar generation in Gansu changes too quickly, these fluctuations can place serious strain on the power grid. Managing this variability has been one of the biggest challenges facing renewable energy for decades.
The transition to green energy is not just about building wind turbines and solar panels. The hardest part begins after the energy is generated: how to deliver it over thousands of kilometres to where it is needed, without losses or disruptions. When the wind dies down or the sun disappears behind clouds, the grid must respond instantly, otherwise voltage swings can knock out entire regions. China, as it expands renewable capacity in the west, has faced this problem head‑on. And the answer was found not in giant batteries or complex weather forecasts, but in a tiny semiconductor switch the size of a fingernail — the IGBT transistor, which has become the key to the stability of the entire system.
Now there is a way to handle this problem. The key lies in one high‑tech component: the IGBT transistor, a semiconductor device about the size of a fingernail. In essence, it works as a high‑speed electrical switch. By switching on and off at high frequencies, it can help stabilise voltage within milliseconds, even when lightning strikes the grid or sudden fluctuations occur. But this "switch" is extremely demanding. In the past, limitations in materials and manufacturing meant it could only operate at relatively low current loads. But this project operates at ±800 kilovolts. The voltage and current that each tiny device must withstand could be enough to cause it to fail.
Now Chinese IGBT transistors have achieved the performance standards required for this kind of application. And deploying this technology in a project of this scale is a world first. "By using domestically produced components, converter valves and transformers, costs will be reduced even further, which will expand their range of applications," said Zhang Mingjia, an engineering technology management specialist at the construction company of the State Grid Corporation of China's Zhejiang branch.
As CCTV+ reports, the use of Chinese IGBT transistors in the ultra‑high‑voltage transmission project from Gansu to Zhejiang has marked an important step in the development of green energy. This is not just an engineering achievement but proof that China can create a full cycle of technologies for a sustainable energy future. In the coming years, such solutions will be scaled up, making renewable energy more reliable and accessible for millions of consumers across the country.
