China's largest integrated energy base transmission project started operations on Thursday, said State Grid Corp of China, the nation's largest power grid operator.

The project is expected to play a key role in balancing energy needs between resource-rich western regions and major consumers in the country, while supporting the expansion of renewable energy nationwide, State Grid said.

The plus-minus 800 kV Longdong-Shandong ultrahigh voltage (UHV) direct current line, with a total investment of 20.2 billion yuan ($2.8 billion), is supported by 14.5 million kilowatts of associated power sources, including 10.5 million kW of new energy.

It is the first time that 1.05 million kW of energy storage capacity has been configured at the sending end base. This integration of wind, solar, coal and storage allows for multienergy complementarity, effectively enhancing the utilization and grid absorption of new energy, it said.

"Its operation will strongly support the development of large energy bases in remote areas like deserts and Gobi regions, as well as the large-scale development and utilization of new energy sources," said Zhang Zhigang, executive chairman of State Grid.

The line will also drive the upgrade and innovation of electrical equipment manufacturing and related industries, advancing China's high-end equipment manufacturing and building a modern power industry system, Zhang said.

State Grid, among other domestic grid operators, has been actively stepping up investment in the construction of UHV power transmission projects in recent years, enabling efficient long-distance transmission of massive amounts of power.

Some analysts believe that the project underscores China's commitment to both energy security and renewable expansion.

Zhou Xia, director-general of the center of power reliability management at the China Electricity Council, said that China now operates the world's most advanced power grid following massive investments and technological advances in recent years.

Power supply reliability across China reached 99.924 percent last year, up 0.013 percentage point year-on-year and a significant rise from the early 1990s, when urban residents faced an average of 96.54 hours of power outages every year, Zhou said.

State Grid said that it would invest a record of over 650 billion yuan in the country's power grid this year, up from 600 billion yuan in 2024.