Global Interconnected and sustainable electricity system

Summary

In 2016, CIGRE decided to launch a pre-feasibility study on the concept of a global power grid. The results published three years later in TB775 highlighted the value of an interconnection between continents for a more efficient implementation of wind and solar energy worldwide. Thanks to these encouraging results, CIGRE decided to launch a new C1.44 working group with the aim, on the one hand, of deepening and refining certain modeling hypotheses, based on feedback received from the CIGRE community, and on the other, of enriching the options for decarbonization enablers not only with more interconnections, but also with more storage and more demand response, seeking the optimal combination of these viable options. In addition, the trading rules and governance issues of a global grid have been added to the scope.

The methodology and input data are those used in the previous C1.35 study. Total electricity production in 2050 is expected to be 40,000 TWh, compared with 25,000 TWh in 2020. Decarbonization should be significant: less than 1 billion tons of CO2, compared with 13.4 billion tons of CO2 in 2020. Total equivalent installed capacity is 14,000 GW in 2050. With these assumptions, renewable energy resources would account for almost 60% of total energy production.

The technologies considered in this study include HVDC overhead lines as well as HVDC submarine cables for land and submarine corridors. Storage facilities were modeled in two activation categories according to their minimum time to full discharge: short-term (4 hours) and medium/long-term (48 hours). For the assessment of demand response, the potential was estimated at 10% of peak load reduction.

The study highlights the main advantage of interconnections over other solutions such as storage and demand response. It reveals the existence of two major backbone networks. The first links Europe to the Middle East and South Asia, to share Europe's high wind potential and the Middle East's high solar potential with the high level of demand in South Asia. The second links North America East to North America West, underlining the economic advantage of merging the North American zones. Several secondary “north-south” corridors are also highlighted, mainly to bring together wind from temperate zones and solar from inter-tropical zones with load centers.

The TB includes an overview of cross-border trading and regulatory practices applied throughout the world. From the perspective of building a global grid, it seems natural to leverage on existing and emerging supranational electricity power system organizations, particularly if trading rules are already in place inside within these organizations. This is the case of a broader framework...