In December 2010, the European Commission formally presented the proposal for a Super Smart Grid (SSG), which joins up the electricity networks of the European Union’s member states and North Africa by 2050 as part of its energy infrastructure priorities for the next two decades. Super smart grids are a type of infrastructure perceived by the European Parliament as indispensable to improve the efficiency of using renewable energy sources. SSG will decarbonise the Pan-European electricity industry and economy and hence combat climate change; enhance security of energy supply; realise a single energy market; and in particular, increase the scale of renewables portfolio. (Prodi, 2011) A low-carbon Europe is in the making.
Smart grid
Run parallel with the EU, the UK Government are committed to reforming British electricity networks and developing a smart grid by 2050. Different from conventional grid systems, ‘smart grids’ will revolutionise the way our power is generated by allowing electrical devices to communicate accurately with utility firms on energy use and, thus, reducing carbon emission by at least 211 million tonnes. The basic idea is to connect different parts of the electrical grid – from a single home to the largest of power stations – with a customised network based on internet protocol (IP). Smart grid will be able to handle the bi-directional flow of data and electricity, facilitating renewables micro-generation capacities around the world. (BBC News, 2009) The core elements of Europe’s Supergrid investment through 2020 include: transmission system upgrades, smart meters, distribution automation and substation automation, as well as electric vehicle management system (in later years).
Policy drivers
The world today is facing increasing energy prices, diminishing fossil energy resources and rapidly growing energy demand. Now, the price of oil has hit the record high of US$130 per barrel. Production has already peaked in over 60 oil-producing countries. It is expected that the exploitation of world oil reserves continues to outpace the discovery of new resources and the world energy demand will increase by further 50% by 2030. To reduce GHG emissions by 20-30% by 2020 and 80% by 2050, the EU has decided to increase the use of renewable energies to 20% of total energy consumption by 2020, 33% by 2030 and 50% by 2050. Therefore, stronger regulations and limitations on greenhouse gas emissions are expected, the possibilities to use even the remaining, expensive fossil energy resources will be severely limited.
Promoting the extensive use of renewable energy sources is the way out. Potential is spread across Europe with wind in the North and sun in the South, biomass and geothermy in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as ocean energy around. According to the European Wind Energy Association, over €57 billion of cumulative investments in wind energy is expected by 2020 for 40GW of generating capacity. (Reuters, 2010) Given the international consensus that European grids have to be at least carbon-neutral, or even of negative emissions (to make space for developing countries), to keep the global temperature rise to within 2°C, the attainability of these climate change and renewables targets may not be as realistic with the current energy policy paradigm, transport and storage capacities in Europe.
One promising solution is to make use of the enormous potential for solar and wind power in North African and the Middle Eastern deserts. Scientists said just 0.3% of daylight there is sufficient to satisfy the electricity needs of the Mediterranean and the rest of Europe many times over. Nonetheless, the clean electricity generated there needs to be transmitted over vast distances back to European load centres. Transmission losses are so high that long-distance transport is unfeasible with the current AC system, even if the interconnection capacities were sufficient, which is not the case at present. Thanks to the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technologies, it will underpin the proposed SSG by allowing long-distance transmission with minimum losses in an ‘electricity highway’ and, as researchers working under the EU CIRCE project believe, could solve both the fluctuation and instability problems of renewables generation. Commissioning of the first electricity highway is planned for 2020.
Intermittence of renewables
Conceivably the fatal weakness of renewable energy has been its intermittent nature which fails to provide a predictable, steady flow of ‘base load’ power to the grid. So merely creating renewable energy sources and plugging them into the grid in never a complete solution. But the wonder of nature lies in the fact that it is impossible for all sources, including solar, wind and tidal power, to be weak everywhere at any given time. Some European governments are embarking on a renewable energy master grid ‘on a continental scale’ – North Sea’s Offshore Grid Initiative (NSOGI) – which is to couple different technologies in different environments to mitigate the natural ebb and flow of any one source. This means utility companies will no longer need to run back-up power, most often natural gas or coal, simultaneously in the event that the renewables cannot meet supply. As a result, real reductions in carbon emissions can be realised and renewable energy become more reliable and a better investment. (Caine, 2010)
NSOGI as a pioneer of Supergrid
Signed by nine countries around the North Sea in March this year, the North Sea’s Offshore Grid Initiative could be regarded as a pioneer or simply a debut of the pan-European Supergrid. The UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Netherland, Ireland, Luxembourg and Norway are planning a new high-voltage electricity network which links up the world’s longest subsea power cable in the North Sea in order to expand the use of renewables such as offshore wind, solar and hydro-power. This €30-billion project will connect the ‘super-nodes’ of power generated by wind turbines in the UK and Germany, tidal power stations in Belgium and Denmark, hydro-power in Norway (30 coal-fired plants equivalent) and solar and geothermal power in the rest of Europe, forming a large battery of renewables.
With NSOGI in place, not only does the combination of power sources raise the likelihood of a more steady flow of clean energy, but also Norway’s large supply of hydro-electric facilities can provide 30GW of energy storage to further secure the system’s reliability. For instance, surplus wind energy produced off Britain’s coast (when electricity demand in the UK is low, but wind speed is high) could be exported to Norway and used to pump water in its hydro-power stations. Electricity generated by hydropower could then be sent to Britain at times of high demand when the wind is not blowing.
Opportunities for renewables
Higher security of supply of renewables-generated electricity means energy prices can become less volatile and an integrative, single electricity market a reality in Europe. As an international infrastructural investment, the undertaking of the Supergrid is likely to generate thousands of jobs along with further ratification of other renewable energy projects in the region, including the huge expansion planned in offshore wind energy. (Reuters, 2010) The Supergrid will create another global opportunity for European companies to export sustainable energy technologies. (GEC, 2011) A new generation of electrical grids is a cornerstone of the development of renewables in Europe, bringing new opportunities for energy trading amongst European states.
Opportunity does not end with the completion of the SSG project because it can be ‘unlimited’. Once the Supergrid is in service, it will become a tool continuously utilised and expanded to accommodate more and more capacities, even beyond the pan-European region. In theory, the Supergrid system could be of potential use to link efficiency to consumer system on smaller scales. If a troop of ‘smart meters’ could be combined with the appliances, cars and users of individual homes, it would help encourage conservation and balance grid load throughout the course of a day.
Challenges to overcome
Other than huge investment required, the factors which governments and energy investors will also need to consider include: the profitability of these investments dependent on renewable support mechanisms; uncertainty of future carbon prices; suitability of bilateral renewable support mechanisms; whether large-scale imports from North Africa to Europe are coupled with efforts to meet increasing local energy demand there; and, most importantly, the availability of a supporting, red tape-free, regime to obtain thousands of permissions from various authorities, etc. After all, it is always the political motivation that counts. This Supergrid model, if successful, will also be a role model for the rest of the world, especially the world’s largest polluter, China and potentially India.
References
- BBC News. (2009, May 18). Electricity to power 'smart grid' . BBC News .
- Caine, T. (2010, January 25). A New European Supergrid for Renewable Energy. Intercon .
- GEC. (2011). Supergrid, Clean Power for Europe. Retrieved July 10, 2011, from Green Economy Coalition: http://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/node/25
- Prodi, V. (. (2011). Smart and Super Grids: vision for a future European energy infrastructure. Strasbourg: The Secretariat of the Intergroup on “Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development".
- Reuters. (2010, March 8). Europe 'supergrid' hopefuls cast fate to wind. CNET News .
- Tournemille, H. (2009, June 8). Europe's Super Smart Grid: Bad Name for an Ambitious Idea. Retrieved July 10, 2011, from Energy Boom: http://www.energyboom.com/europes-super-smart-grid-bad-name-ambitious-idea
Email me at winstonkm.mark@googlemail.com
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