The European Super Grid

Copyright: DESERTEC, michael.straub@clubofrome.de        Author: Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation

One of the many challenges facing us humans in the 21st century is energy. It will need to be plentiful, cheap, reliable, secure, and clean.

Plentiful and cheap because, with a growing world population, anything else will lead to spiralling energy costs for everyone.

Reliable because modern life is increasingly dependant on energy to continue functioning.

Secure because energy security is becoming a priority for many countries. They no longer want their economies held hostage by unfriendly or 'flakey' nations.

And clean because, like it or not, carbon emissions are changing our climate and we need to reduce them. Fast.

'Super grids' may be a way to achieve all these goals.

A super grid is not just a very large electric grid that crosses national borders, as suggested by the above map, or necessarily related to renewables (also implied by the above).

The key elements are smart grid technology (See earlier post) and national grids linked by high voltage DC connectors aka HVDC  (Maybe AC connectors in USA).

The proposed European smart grid, for example, could use that smart grid tech to completely eliminate the use of coal and natural gas, despite making heavy use of intermittent renewables like wind and solar. Studies say this could be achieved based on the principle that, with a wide enough area, there will always be enough wind energy available somewhere.

That wide area would be achieved by running HVDC connections from Iceland (Wind, hydro, and geothermal) to Britain; and from Britain (Wind), Ireland (Wind), Scandinavia (Hydro), and Africa (Solar) to the continent (solar, wind, geothermal, hydro and biomass). The area may even spread as far as the Pacific (via Russia).

With an area that wide, so many sources, and smart grid control, you could achieve that plentiful, cheap, reliable, secure, and clean energy I was talking about.

Pie in the sky? Actually, the basics are beginning to appear now. The UK is already connected to France and the Netherlands. We're also talking to Iceland and Ireland to connect to their resources. There are numerous other connections around Europe, with more under construction.

Meanwhile, the DESERTEC Foundation is promoting the concept of a network of concentrating solar power stations (See the map) in the Sahara that could not only supply Europe with a vast source of electric but North Africa too. It's feasible but expensive. Unlikely in these cash-strapped times but it'd be worth the investment if we did.

Super grids make sense even without renewables. With renewables they unlock a limitless, clean, and cheap resource that no nation or nations can monopolise. They are where the future lies. Not with some rapidly depleting, dirty, fossil fuel peddled by the few at the expense of the many.... and our planet.

More here and here.