just as extreme weather events are demonstrating how vulnerable the nation’s power infrastructure is. That adds up to further investment in one thing in particular: China’s immense but unwieldy electricity grid.
A big part of that spending will be in ultrahigh voltage lines, suitable for sending power long distances due to lower transmission losses. State Grid said it would start construction on eight UHV lines in the second half of this year, for a total outlay of more than $22 billion. And given China’s increasingly rapid build-out of renewable power, the country will likely need to ramp up investment in the grid even further. The country added 53 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity in the first seven months of 2022—a 73% increase from the new capacity installed during the same period last year.