China's power grid leaves more green footprints around the world

At the symposium marking the 5th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2018, President Xi Jinping emphasized that on the basis of maintaining a healthy and benign development momentum, we should promote the transformation of the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative towards high-quality development.

In order to jointly build a green "Belt and Road" and promote high-quality development of the "Belt and Road", a large number of energy and power infrastructure projects have been started and put into operation, which has played a positive role in improving infrastructure conditions in countries along the route and achieving green, low-carbon and sustainable development.

Open the world map, and you can clearly see the green footprints of State Grid Corporation of China in the "circle of friends" of the "Belt and Road". In line with the global trend of sustainable development and adhering to the concept of green development, the company actively serves the construction of the green "Belt and Road" and provides a "Chinese solution" for countries along the route to achieve green and low-carbon development through the extension of large power grids and the interconnection of clean energy. In overseas engineering construction, the company pays attention to protecting the local ecology and makes its own efforts to promote the construction of the green "Belt and Road".

Helping countries along the route deliver clean energy

In September 2018, at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, President Xi Jinping pointed out in his keynote speech that the Belt and Road Initiative should be built into a green road.

The African continent is a treasure trove of clean energy, but it has long been plagued by the uneven distribution of energy resources and demand centers. Power shortage has become a major bottleneck restricting Africa's economic and social development.

From one of the least developed countries in the world to one of the fastest growing economies in Africa, under the Belt and Road Initiative, Ethiopia's clean energy has developed rapidly and it has continued to take solid steps towards green and sustainable development.

On December 22, 2015, the Ethiopian GDHA 500 kV power transmission and transformation project was officially completed on the basalt-covered African roof. This most advanced power transmission and transformation project in Africa has enabled tens of millions of Ethiopians and neighboring countries to use clean hydropower, achieving optimal resource allocation on a larger scale.

Last November, another clean energy transmission channel in Ethiopia, the ±500 kV Ethiopia-Kenya DC transmission project in Ethiopia, received a completion certificate. The project has greatly promoted the development and utilization of clean energy, benefiting not only Kenya, but also effectively promoting the economic and social development and improvement of people's livelihood in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and other countries.

In the wave of jointly building a green "Belt and Road", a major power channel for transmitting clean energy has also been built in South America.

On January 13, Brazilian time, the company's first large-scale greenfield 500 kV transmission concession project independently invested and constructed overseas, the Trispils Transmission Concession Phase II Project in Brazil, was put into commercial operation. The hydropower of the Trispils Hydropower Station is continuously transmitted to the southeastern load center through transmission lines, meeting the annual electricity demand of the local population of 8 million.

On April 19, the groundbreaking ceremony for the 500 kV ring network transmission and transformation project in Vientiane, Laos was held in Vientiane. After the project is put into operation, it will help interconnect the power grids in northern, central and southern Laos and promote the development and utilization of hydropower resources. It can be foreseen that with the support of the "Belt and Road Initiative", more "green" projects will be implemented overseas.

Harmonious coexistence of engineering construction and operation and the environment

Ecological environmental protection and governance is an important part of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road". The company integrates the concept of green development into project construction, actively protects the local ecology, and does a good job in environmental protection during the construction process.

The environmental impact assessment of the Belo Monte Phase II project is considered to be the most stringent environmental impact assessment in history. The project route crosses 863 rivers in five major basins, including the Amazon Basin and the Tocantins River. The ecological system is complex, the terrain is varied, and the cultural differences are great. In the tropical rainforest, there are often dozens of plants on a tree. All rare species must be "transplanted", which shows the huge amount of environmental protection engineering.

Starting from Rio de Janeiro, crossing 5 states and 78 cities along the way, and deep into the rainforest of the northwestern state of Bana, no one is more familiar with the area affected by the more than 2,500-kilometer line corridor of the Belo Monte Phase II project than Li Xinglei, manager of the Environmental Land Acquisition Department of State Grid Brazil Holding Company.

After 245 days of fierce battle, the environmental assessment team of the Beauty Mountain Phase II project finally discovered more than 1,700 species of animals and plants, restored vegetation on at least 1,100 hectares, and found 50 sites that needed to be excavated and protected by surveying 4,411 tower bases and 44 camps along the entire line.

At that time, the application for environmental impact assessment of the second phase of Trispiers was also being carried out. The project route stretches over 1,000 kilometers, and the environmental impact assessment team's work includes animal and plant migration, soil and water conservation, cultural relics and historical sites investigation, and tribal protection.

After the project was launched, the company implemented 51 social environmental protection plans, planted 200 hectares of natural forest as compensation, protected, rescued and relocated endangered and rare animals more than a thousand times, and saved more than 1,500 epiphytes, once again ensuring the harmonious coexistence of the project construction and operation with the local society and environment through practical actions.

Li Xinglei said: "Green is probably the natural attribute of the project, and our job is to make sure this green never fades."

Help local residents develop green industries

Overseas projects for jointly building a green "Belt and Road" and major power channels for transporting clean energy are not only working to fill gaps in local infrastructure, but also creating conditions to help local residents develop green industries and promote more sustainable and higher-quality development of the local economy and society.

Chilamboa Village is a small town with only about 200 people, 100 kilometers away from the outskirts of Palmas, the capital of Tocantins State in northern Brazil. Brazil is currently the world's largest grower and exporter of acerola cherries. Sufficient sunlight, high humidity and high temperatures all year round - these climatic conditions make Chilamboa Village the kingdom of acerola cherries. During the harvest season, the ripe acerola cherries are like rubies, dotted in the mountains.

According to the actual situation of the village with many fruit trees, the construction personnel of the Belo Monte Phase II project invested in and built a juice factory in the local area, and absorbed local labor to participate in the construction to increase residents' income. Yang Guangliang, line construction manager of the Belo Monte Phase II project company of State Grid Brazil Company, said that after the factory is built, relying on sufficient power supply, local residents will be able to transform resource advantages into economic advantages, support the development of green industries, and take into account both economic and environmental benefits.

At the same time, during the construction of the Meilishan project, the construction personnel also helped local residents build chicken farms and develop the breeding industry, ensuring that the chicken farms had safe and stable electricity, and explained the concept of green environmental protection to local residents. The construction personnel not only "transfused blood" but also "made blood", taking a two-pronged approach to help local residents become self-reliant, start their own businesses, and achieve green and sustainable development.

In the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, the story of green is still going on. As China State Grid goes global, it will also bring green to more places, into the lives of more people, and leave more green footprints.