In Chile, which is 20,000 kilometers away from China, the country’s first high-voltage direct current transmission line, which China

Southern Power Grid Co., Ltd. participated in, is in full swing. As China Southern Power Grid’s largest overseas greenfield investment

power grid project so far, this transmission line with a total length of about 1,350 kilometers will become an important achievement of

the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative between China and Chile, and will help Chile’s green development.

In 2021, China Southern Power Grid International Corporation, Chilean Transelec Corporation, and Colombian National Transmission

Company jointly formed a tripartite joint venture to participate in the high-voltage direct current transmission line project from Guimar,

Antofagasta Region, Northern Chile, to Loaguirre, Central Capital Region Bid and win the bid, and the contract will be officially awarded

in May 2022.

Chilean President Boric said in his State of the Union speech at the Capitol in Valparaíso that Chile has the conditions to achieve diversified,

sustainable and innovative development

The tripartite joint venture will establish the Chilean DC Transmission Joint Venture Company in 2022, which will be responsible for the

construction, operation and maintenance of the KILO project. Fernandez, general manager of the company, said that each of the three

companies sent its backbone to join the company, complementing each other’s strengths and drawing on their strengths to ensure the

successful progress of the project.

Currently, Chile is vigorously promoting energy transformation, and proposes to close all coal-fired power plants by 2030 and achieve

carbon neutrality by 2050. Due to insufficient power transmission capacity, many new energy power generation companies in northern

Chile are facing huge pressure to abandon wind and light, and urgently need to speed up the construction of transmission lines.  The KILO

project aims to transmit the abundant clean energy from the Atacama Desert in northern Chile to the Capital Region of Chile, reducing

end-user electricity costs and reducing carbon emissions.

Santa Clara main toll booth on Highway 5 in the Bio-Bio region of Chile

The KILO project has a static investment of 1.89 billion US dollars and is expected to be completed in 2029. By then, it will become the

transmission project with the highest voltage level, the longest transmission distance, the largest transmission capacity and the highest

earthquake resistance level in Chile. As a major project planned at the national strategic level in Chile, the project is expected to create

at least 5,000 local jobs and make an important contribution to promoting sustainable energy development in Chile, realizing energy

transformation and serving Chile’s decarbonization goals.

In addition to project investment, China Southern Power Grid also formed a consortium with Xi’an Xidian International Engineering

Company, a subsidiary of China Electric Equipment Group Co., Ltd., to undertake the EPC general contracting of the converter stations

at both ends of the KILO project. China Southern Power Grid is responsible for overall negotiation, system research, and design

Commissioning and construction management, Xidian International is mainly responsible for equipment supply and equipment procurement.
Chile’s terrain is long and narrow, and the load center and energy center are far away. It is especially suitable for the construction of

point-to-point direct current transmission projects. The characteristics of fast control of direct current transmission will also greatly

improve the stability of the power system. DC transmission technology is widely used and mature in China, but it is relatively rare in

Latin American markets except Brazil.

People watch a dragon dance performance in Santiago, the capital of Chile

Gan Yunliang, chief technology officer of the joint venture company and from China Southern Power Grid, said: We especially hope

that through this project, Latin America can learn about Chinese solutions and Chinese standards. China’s HVDC standards have

become part of international standards. We hope that through the construction of Chile’s first high-voltage direct current transmission

project, we will actively cooperate with the Chilean power authority to help establish local standards for direct current transmission.

According to reports, the KILO project will help Chinese power companies gain more opportunities to contact and cooperate with the

Latin American power industry, drive Chinese technology, equipment, and standards to go global, let Latin American countries better

understand Chinese companies, and promote in-depth cooperation and cooperation between China and Latin America. Mutual benefit

and win-win. At present, the KILO project is intensively carrying out systematic research, field survey, environmental impact assessment,

community communication, land acquisition, bidding and procurement, etc. It is planned to complete the preparation of environmental

impact report and route design within this year.