As the world becomes more globalised, the idea of power-sharing is growing more popular. Several countries around the globe already have interconnected energy infrastructure, benefitting from one another’s natural resources to boost their power. Meanwhile, many countries are pursuing a green transition by investing heavily in the development of their renewable energy capacity. However, some regions of the world have more abundant renewable resources than others, suggesting the need for new power-sharing networks to be developed.
There is a huge potential for cross-country and cross-continent power sharing, which would help accelerate a global green transition. However, developing interconnected energy transmission networks is complex due to the varying regulatory standards and other barriers. Nevertheless, some regions are already starting to develop new networks aimed at enhancing energy security over the coming decades.
Europe and Africa are beginning to develop links to boost access to clean energy in countries with non-optimal weather conditions for energy production. Much of North Africa has abundant sunlight throughout the year, making it a prime location to develop large-scale solar farms. Meanwhile, Central and Northern Europe are less suited to these types of projects. Therefore, some European countries are looking for ways to transmit clean power across the sea.
The U.K. is developing the Morocco-U.K. Power Project, Xlinks’ flagship project to supply millions of British homes with renewable energy produced in North Africa via a 4,000 km subsea cable. Xlinks plans to construct a 1,500 mile2 solar, wind, and battery farm in the Province of Tan-Tan, Morocco, an area with twice the solar intensity of the U.K., to launch in the 2030s. Morocco is already connected to Europe via two high-voltage cables to Spain, with a capacity of 700 MW each.
Other projects being developed include the GREGY initiative between Greece and Egypt and the ELMED-TUNITA project between Tunisia and Italy. GREGY has been in the works since 2008. The Greek Copelouzos Group has earmarked €4.2 billion to construct a submarine electricity cable with bi-directional power transmission capacity to transfer 3 GW of electricity a year. Meanwhile, the Italian transmission system operator Terna and the Tunisian state-owned electricity and gas utility STEG plan to develop a 220 km bi-directional power link between Italy and Tunisia with a capacity of 600 MW, at a maximum depth of approximately 800 metres along the Strait of Sicily.
Nivedh Das Thaikoottathil, a senior renewables analyst at Rystad Energy, explained, “North Africa's renewable energy potential aligns well with Europe's goal of reducing reliance on Russian natural gas. The region’s geographic proximity makes it a natural fit for buyer-seller relationships, leading to large-scale solar and wind projects, along with subsea cables across the Mediterranean and even to the U.K.”
Europe is also exploring connectivity options with North America, which is more challenging due to the distance involved. Three players are investing in the development of the technology needed to link the two continents through the North Atlantic Transmission One–Link (NATO-L). The aim is to develop a 6 GW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) set of subsea cables across the Atlantic Ocean to link North America and Western Europe. Laurent Segalen, the founder of Megawatt-X, Gerard Reid, a founding partner of Alexa Capital, and Simon Ludlam, the founding partner of Etchea Energy, are developing the project.
The cable would need to cover 3,500 km, making the project highly ambitious. If successful, it would allow for the transport of clean electricity from North America to Western Europe. The project is expected to take anywhere between 10 to 15 years to complete, assuming it’s even possible.
In Asia, there is significant potential to boost connectivity between several Southeast Asian countries. Some countries have far more abundant renewable resources than others, making power-sharing key to energy security and a regional green transition. For example, while Laos has significant hydropower capacity and Indonesia has the potential for up to 2,900 GW of solar PV capacity, Singapore has limited natural resources, demonstrating the new
The Group CEO at Indika Energy, Azis Armand, stated, “Enhancing our regional energy networks is a strategic necessity for sustainable development in South-East Asia. By leveraging diverse energy resources… we can build a resilient, integrated energy framework. This will not only improve our energy security but also promote equity and environmental sustainability.”
Some projects have already been developed, including regional grids such as the Laos-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP) and the Borneo-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines Power Interconnection Project (BIMP-PIP). However, greater investment is required to boost connectivity across the region and support a move away from a reliance on fossil fuels, particularly coal.
Several countries worldwide have entered discussions to develop cross-country or cross-continent energy links to support clean power sharing. However, while some short-distance projects have already been completed, developing more technologically challenging, long-distance projects could take several more years. Nevertheless, power sharing will be key to achieving a global green transition, as some countries have abundant renewable energy sources while others require greater investment to increase their green energy capacity.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com
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