April 5, 2018

Column: Market review

Completing the globally interconnected electricity grid   Abstract The total global load at the present moment in time is between 23,000 GWh to 24,000 GWh...

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Completing the globally interconnected electricity grid

 

Abstract

The total global load at the present moment in time is between 23,000 GWh to 24,000 GWh and this will probably increase by a factor of three by 2050. The Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organisation – GEIDCO is promoting “Global Energy Interconnection which is “Smart Grid + UHV Grid + Clean Energy”; it is an infrastructure platform on which clean energy can be developed, transmitted and used massively worldwide. The total bill is estimated by GEIDCO at US$ 50,000,000,000,000 over the rollout programme of up to 30 years, which equates to nearly US$ 1.7 trillion each year at today’s prices – a figure equal to the combined GDP of the top 10 countries in 2016, or nearly 70 % of the global total.

Keywords: Global Energy Interconnection, GEI, capacity, world

 

1. Introduction

At a recent meeting in London, a seminar was held and a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Royal academy of Engineering and The Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organisation – GEIDCO. This was the latest in a series of such cooperation agreements that have been agreed during the last two years.

The Royal Academy is a chartered body comprising some 1,600 elected fellows comprising the UK’s national academy for engineering, bringing together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering.

GEIDCO with its permanent office domiciled in Beijing, China, is a international organization among willing firms, associations, institutions and individuals who are dedicated to promoting the sustainable development of energy worldwide.

In itself, this was not a particularly earth shattering event, but the objects and aims of GEIDCO certainly are. The organisation is promoting “Global Energy Interconnection (GEI) which is “Smart Grid + UHV Grid + Clean Energy”; it is an infrastructure platform on which clean energy can be developed, transmitted and used massively worldwide. It is also a comprehensive energy system that is cleanliness-dominant, electricity-centred, globally allocated and featuring co-construction and sharing.”

In essence, the GEI envisages a grid system that encompasses the globe so that electrical energy can be generated, transmitted, distributed and consumed anywhere in the world; for example, solar energy can be generated in the Sahara desert and contribute to the energy mix in Europe Asia, South America or even Australasia.

The concept is technically feasible mainly because of the advances that have been made in UHV transmission technology, which leaves only two other main questions: political desire to achieve completion and finally, and probably most importantly, the finance to pay for the installation.

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