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, know that the U. S. power grid includes three main interconnections: the Eastern Interconnection, the Western Interconnection, and the Texas Independent Interconnection. The local networks within those zones are connected, but the links between the 3 main zones are minimal. Reduce effective energy use and make 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 massive transmission of electrical power over long distances, a supergrid can connect maximum optimal large-scale renewable energy resources to primary demand centers and enable more efficient energy trading. To overcome the limitations of existing infrastructure and potentially link continents, the concept is based on two key facts.
First, the ongoing transition toward renewable and decentralized energy resources has shifted generation from demand centers to regions where geography and climatic conditions allow for effective generation. Secondly, renewable energies occasionally appear in symbiosis. Periods of maximum wind production, for example, tend to be less productive for photovoltaics, and vice versa. The assumption is that affordable renewable energy will be available somewhere, making electric transportation the main challenge.
Solar energy center near Guadarranque, San Roque, Cadiz Province, Spain. (Photo by: Ken … [+] Welsh/UCG/Universal Images Group via 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 energy 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 workers set up a power grid for the 800-kilovolt Hami-Chongqing UHVDC transmission line … [+] project at high altitude in Zhangye, China, on November 14, 2024. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Such demanding situations would hinder the progress of a supergrid in Europe and the United States, two regions that ultimately depend on a network of individual and interconnected networks.
This is enough to guarantee a widespread source of electricity. Until now. But one of the main weaknesses lies in the interconnections. They lack the scale, capacity and success necessary to carry out large, unfettered transfers of power. In the era of intermittent renewable energy, this not only endangers our energy security. This 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 a largely underground grid of existing high voltage direct current (HVDC) across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Studies such as The North American Supergrid and the Harvard China Project suggest that the grid could reduce energy sector emissions by up to 80%, while expanding the power and resilience of the energy market. However, the task has faced difficult situations such as obtaining permits, high prices and opposition from local communities.
More recently, the U. S. Department of Energy has called for greater interregional and interconnection capacity to make U. S. grids compatible for the 21st century.
And in Europe, network operators are required to reach 70% of capacity between zones by 2025, with varying success. One of the flagship projects is NordLink, which connects Norway with northern Germany. Other HVDC powerline structure projects are still in the planning stages or early stages of structuring, 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 obstacles to building a supergrid will be cost. A new study from Rystad Energy projects that restricting global warming to 1. 8°C above pre-industrial degrees will require around $3. 1 trillion in investment in network infrastructure worldwide until 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.
Although the issue of funding for grid development will persist, the benefits will far outweigh the cost. For example, greater electricity market integration and cross-border trade over the past decade have already brought EU-wide advantages, estimated at around €34 billion annually.
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 through 2050. For every dollar of investment spent on transportation improvements, They would need approximately between $1. 60 and $1. 80. bran.
Electricity grids are seen as the “outgoing duck” of the energy transition. Unfairly!
With sound environmental considerations, an overhaul of our grid infrastructure is imperative for decarbonizing and strengthening our industrial base. It will preserve our economic prosperity and counter the ongoing socioeconomic divide in many of our Western societies.
It is high time for a shift in policy and perception, putting energy demand, supply and transmission at eye level.
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