State Grid Corp of China, the largest state-owned electric utility company in the world, has released an English version of the company's latest book on ultra-high voltage (UHV) transmission technology after the successful release of the Chinese version a year ago.

The book - Ultra High Voltage AC/DC Grids, written by Liu Zhenya, president and CEO of State Grid Corp of China (SGCC) - was co-published by Elsevier and China Electric Power Press, a publishing subsidiary of SGCC. Elsevier is an academic publisher of science, health and technology books based in New York, with global headquarters in London and Amsterdam.

"This book systematically elaborates the characteristics and advantages of ultra-high voltage AC/DC transmission technology, analyzes the engineering technical standards and comprehensively summarizes SGCC's experience on ultra-high voltage power grid development," said Liang Xuming, director of the Executive Director Office of SGCC, at the book's launch event on Tuesday in Orlando, Florida.

"Since its publication in 2013, the Chinese version has been highly praised by international organizations, industry peers, scientific academics, government organs, and mass media," he added.

Liang said that the book is a compilation of all the knowledge and best practices that the utility company has achieved through its decade of operation.

The Chinese version was published at the end of 2013, selling almost 200,000 copies and exceeding expected demand, Liang said. A Russian version was released on Feb 6.

The English version will be available at major book retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Borders. It is also available through Elsevier's online store as well as ScienceDirect, the company's scientific database that offers journal articles and book chapters.

"Elsevier's goal is to ensure that scientists and engineers have access to content that helps them to understand and solve problems in industries such as energy," said Suzanne BeDell, managing director of Elsevier's science and technology books, in a Feb 10 statement. "We are pleased to work with SGCC and CEPP on this new Energy Series to provide insights into ultra-high voltage transmission from a true leader in the field."

Founded in 2002, SGCC supplies power to almost 90 percent of China and is the seventh-largest company in the world, according to a 2014 Fortune Global 500 ranking. It recorded $333.4 billion in revenues last year, according to Fortune estimates.

Ultra High Voltage AC/DC Grids is a reference for industry professionals and experts for understanding the most current applications and innovations in the field of ultra-high voltage transmission, which is advantageous for getting electrical power across long distances.

"It is the world's most advanced transmission technology with the highest voltage. China is leading the world in this regard and has its completely independent intellectual property rights," SGCC said in a statement.

China's more than 1 billion in population consumes 5.322 trillion kilowatt hours, according to the CIA World Factbook, compared to the US' 3.886 trillion kilowatt hours. China generated 5.2 trillion kilowatt hours in 2013, according to data from the country's National Bureau of Statistics, a 7.6 percent growth from the previous year.

In order to supply the country with electricity, power has to be transmitted through an ultra-high voltage grid from west China, where the country's energy load centers are and where energy consumption is less, to the more economically developed and densely populated central and eastern China.

"SGCC vigorously promoted UHV technology and solved the problems of large capacity and long distance transmission," the company said. "SGCC has comprehensively mastered the core technologies of UHV AC and DC transmission, overcome technical difficulties such as overvoltage, insulation, electromagnetic environment and successfully developed AC/DC system equipment independently."

The book documents the research and engineering practices of UVH power grid construction in China since 2005.

"State Grid's role in carrying out any government-to-government initiatives will build on its own experiences in China as demonstrated how its ultra-high voltage AC/DC grid can integrate vast lines of power from conventional and clean energy resources located in western China and carry that proficiently over long distances where customer load is situated in central and eastern China," said Robert Gee, former assistant secretary for Fossil Energy of the US Department of Energy, at the book launch.

State Grid announced in January that it will be investing $68.7 billion on grid infrastructure in 2015, a record amount for the company and up 24 percent from the year before. It will construct 40,000 miles of AC power transmission and 8,000 miles of DC current lines in 2015, according to Xinhua.

It also plans to begin pre-project work for four power links that will connect China with Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and Pakistan.

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 02/11/2015 page2)