ABB has won an order of over $40 million to provide advanced power equipment to the 800 kilovolt (kV) Dianxibei-Guangdong ultra-high-voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission link. The project, operated by China Southern Power Grid Company Limited, one of the country's two major grid operators, is expected to transmit 5,000 megawatts (MW) of power over a distance of more than 1,950 kilometers. The order was booked in the third quarter of 2016.

The link will transmit clean hydro-power from Yunnan province in southwestern China to the Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong, one of the most densely urbanized regions in the world and a major economic and manufacturing hub of China. The link has the capacity to meet the annual power consumption needs of over 10 million people based on average per capita national consumption. It will also help the region to significantly reduce coal consumption and mitigate carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide emissions.

"We are pleased that our advanced power technologies will enable the longest UHVDC link in southern China to deliver clean power to millions and lower environmental impact," said Claudio Facchin, President of ABB's Power Grids division. "Ultra-high-voltage technologies are a key element of our Next Level strategy and will help expansive countries like China to reliably and efficiently transport increasing amounts of clean, renewable power over greater distances.

END