Global Electricity Transmission Grid

China can really think big and execute even bigger. The country’s infrastructure planning is of mammoth scale and its state directed capitalism allows massive resources to be funneled into infrastructure projects. While the credit fueled expansion has been a concern for a long time for industry and economy watchers, the giant global grid proposed by China truly astounds the mind with its global scale. As massive amount of solar power is going to waste, China is thinking about lowering its solar target. This global transmission grid could be the answer to this major problem.

Approximately $50 trillion is to be spent in building a grid, spanning the globe through ultra-high voltage lines that will connect wind farms in the Arctic Circle and giant solar farms near the equator, with major consumption centers around the world. According to the plan, the grid construction will be divided into 3 major phases:

Phase 1 – now till 2020 – Development of grids in individual countries with smart features

Phase 2 – 2020-2030 – Interconnection of national grids

Phase 3 – 2030-2050 – Development of generation based in Arctic and Equator and connection to the grid.

This gird will be a key enabler to increase the generation and integration of large amounts of renewable energy into the grid. With renewable energy penetration increasing, it is becoming more important to increase investments into the transmission grid, to allow them to soak up large amounts of intermittent energy generation sources such as wind and solar energy. It is a well-known fact that a bigger grid allows for better absorption of wind and solar energy. A worldwide grid would allow a huge amount of RE to be absorbed, without requiring an investment into energy storage and other means. It would also be the most cost efficient and reliable manner to increase the penetration of renewable energy.