In 2021, a severe snowstorm hit Texas. When it did, the state’s isolated grid could not access surplus power from neighbouring regions, leaving 4.5 million homes and businesses without electricity.
To understand why, one has to know that the U.S. electrical grid comprises three major interconnections: the Eastern Interconnection, the Western Interconnection, and the independent Texas Interconnection. Local grids within these zones are connected, but links between the three major zones are minimal. Reducing efficient use of energy and leaving grids vulnerable to outages.
However, the growing number of extreme weather events is just one of many reasons highlighting the need for a Supergrid.
Using new grid technologies for the transmission of bulk electrical power over long distances, a supergrid can connect maximum optimal large-scale renewable energy resources to key demand centers and enable more efficient energy trading. Overcoming the limitations of existing infrastructure and potentially linking continents, the concept is based on two key facts.
First, the ongoing shift to decentralized, renewable energy sources has moved production away from demand centers to regions where geography and weather allow efficient generation. Second, renewables often work symbiotically. Periods of high wind generation, for instance, tend to be less productive for photovoltaics, and vice versa. The assumption is that affordable renewable power will always be available somewhere, making electricity transport the key challenge.
Solar energy center near Guadarranque, San Roque, Cádiz province, Spain. (Photo by: KenArray. [ ] Welsh/UCG/Universal Images Group Getty Images)
Driven by its goal of carbon neutrality until 2060, China is moving towards building the world’s largest supergrid. Using very high voltage power lines operating at 1. 1 million volts, this generation transports electrical power generated from renewable sources, such as wind farms in central Mongolia or hydropower in the southwest, to densely populated areas. Interesting note: those UHV lines basically exploit the existing new “Made in Europe” direct generation. By 2024, more than 30 UHV projects will have been added, connecting entire regions such as Wuhan and Nanchang.
But China’s vision does impede its borders, as it plans to expand the network to other Northeast Asian countries, especially Japan, Korea and Russia. By prioritizing huge economic, ecological and geostrategic benefits, China has downplayed issues such as environmental impact, land acquisition and difficulties in integrating renewable energy.
Construction personnel installed a force grid for the assignment of the Hami-Chongqing 800-kilovolt high-altitude UHVDC transmission line in Zhangye, China, on Nov. 14, 2024. (Photo via Costfoto/NurPhoto Getty Images)
Such demanding situations would hinder the advancement of supergrids in Europe and the United States, two regions that lately depend on an Internet of partially connected individual networks.
This has been sufficient to provide widespread electricity supply. So far. But a key weakness lies in the interconnections. They lack the scale, capacity, and range needed for unrestricted bulk power transfers. In the era of intermittent renewables, this doesn’t only put our energy security risk. It also exposes us to enormous price volatility.
One of many examples occurred on 12 September 2024, at 7 p.m. CET. Norway’s day-ahead electricity price was €5/MWh, while in Germany it was €300/MWh. This example further illustrates the need for a Supergrid, which would help mitigate such price disparities by making different resources in the grid available.
Fortunately, despite the environmental challenges, both regions offer compelling arguments in favor of this solution. This is due to its integrated and single market position with flexible movement of goods, services, capital and labor, as well as its strong regulatory team spirit. and ambitious net-zero emissions targets. Furthermore, Europe has established a strong policy framework for transnational energy collaboration.
Initiatives are underway on both sides of the Atlantic, but for China they are still in their infancy.
Launched in November 2017, the North American Supergrid initiative aims to build an existing, largely underground, high voltage direct (HVDC) grid across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Studies such as The North American Supergrid and the Harvard China Project recommend that the grid could reduce power sector emissions by up to 80% while increasing the power and resilience of the power market. However, the task faced challenges, such as obtaining permits, high costs and opposition from locals. communities.
More recently, the US Department of Energy has called for increased interconnection and interregional capacity to make US grids compatible for the 21st century.
And in Europe, network operators are required to reach 70% cross-zone capacity by 2025, with varying success. One of the flagship projects is NordLink, which connects Norway with northern Germany. Other HVDC power line structure projects are still in preparation. early phase(s) of structure, such as SuedLink.
March 22, 2021, Schleswig-Holstein, Wilster: A technician examines parts of the Array. . [+] converters from the company NordLink. The direct current generated through Norwegian hydropower is converted into alternating current at this plant and fed into the German power grid. Photo: Axel Heimken/dpa (Photo via Axel Heimken/photo Alliance Getty Images)
One of the biggest barriers to building a Supergrid will be cost. A new Rystad Energy research predicts that limiting global warming to 1.8°C above pre-industrial levels will require approximately US$3.1 trillion of grid infrastructure investments globally by 2030.
One possible solution lies in cutting-edge technologies, such as superconducting cable systems. Capable of transmitting ten times more energy, it requires less space and raw fabric than traditional copper or aluminum cables.
While the issue of financing network development will remain, the benefits will outweigh the costs. For example, greater integration of the electricity market and cross-border industry over the last decade has already generated benefits for the entire EU, estimated at around €34 billion year-on-year.
The same is true in the United States, where the DOE estimates that accelerating transportation expansion would generate cost savings of between $270 billion and $490 billion between now and 2050. For every dollar of investment spent on transportation improvements, approximately between $1. 60 and $1. 80. bran.
Grids are often seen as the “lame duck” of the energy transition. Wrongfully!
With strong environmental considerations, a review of our network infrastructure is imperative to decarbonize and strengthen our business base. It will maintain our economic prosperity and counteract the current socioeconomic divide in many of our Western societies.
It is the best time to replace politics and perception, putting the demand, origin and delivery of energy at eye level.
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