Clean energy supergrid coming to Europe

By Dan Jones | 01/04/10 - 10:09

European Energy Supergrid

A number of North Sea countries have united in an effort to develop a renewable energy supergrid capable of connecting clean power sources, from the wind farms of northern Scotland, the many solar panels of Germany, to the hydro-electric dams in the fjords of Norway.

UK newspaper the Guardian reports that it will become the first electricity grid in Europe solely dedicated to renewable energy, and the idea has recently been transformed from environmental pipe dream to a political reality as nine countries have drawn up formal plans to connect their green energy projects around the North Sea.

One of the biggest criticisms of renewable energy is its unreliable nature, largely due to its dependency on the weather - for example, if the wind isn't blowing then a wind farm quickly becomes redundant. But with a supergrid, made up of thousands of kilometres of highly efficient undersea cable, this problem is effectively solved.

Giant 30GW battery for Europe

With this network of cables, electricity can be supplied across the continent from wherever the wind is blowing, the sun is shining or the waves are crashing.

And with advances in smartgrid technology, energy could also be stored - with Norway's hydroelectric plants alone potentially becoming a giant 30GW battery for Europe's clean energy, the equivalent to around 30 coal-fired power stations.

As reported in the Guardian, by autumn, the nine governments involved - Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland and the UK - hope to have a plan to begin building a high-voltage direct current network within the next decade.The project will be an important step in achieving the European Union's pledge that, by 2020, 20 percent of its energy will come from renewable sources.

A balance of power

Much of Europe's electricity grids are inadequate and need urgent upgrading if they are to make full use of renewable energy and provide a balance of power across the continent.

The cost of a North Sea grid has not yet been calculated, but a study by Greenpeace in 2008 put the price of building a similar grid by 2025 at between 15 billion euros and 20 billion euros. This would provide more than 6,000km of cable around the region.

The European Wind Energy Association's (EWEA) 2009 study suggested the costs of connecting the proposed 100GW wind farms and building interconnectors, into which further wind and wave power farms could be plugged in future, would probably the price closer to 30 billion euros.

To see a video on how decision makers plan on developing this project click here.