Expansion of Transmission Grids Is Gaining Worldwide Momentum

Other European countries are discussing grid expansion as well. A new study by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) from the UK emphasizes the need to expand the grid if renewable energies are to be taken over the whole grid in the future. The existing transmission lines are also urgently in need of expansion and have to be modernized in order to create a broader mix of energy vectors (heat, power and gaseous fuels).

The study, titled 'UK Networks Transition Challenges - A Systems View', shows that long-term and cost-intensive regulations must be taken. This requires a corresponding regulatory foundation. “Over the coming decades the UK energy system will need to transition to meet challenging greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets in the most affordable way. Most of the UK’s energy is currently moved around the country, and sometimes beyond, by electricity and gas networks together with the liquid fuel supply system e.g. petrol and diesel. It is imperative that all of these networks are fit for purpose and robust enough to respond to future uncertainties“, explains Liam Lidstone, Strategy Manager of the study.

But elsewhere, people are also concerned about the network expansion. For a long time, the Americans were able to claim the first place in global wind turbine development, which was often due to the fact that the Chinese had set up more turbines (the statistics name an average of two erected turbines per hour, a number taken from this year), but their grid expansion was falling behind. In the past few years, however, China has also invested heavily in this sub-sector of the energy transition – and continues to do so. The Swiss technology group ABB was recently able to win a new order from the Middle Kingdom: There the Swiss will provide advanced power equipment to an 800 kilovolt (kV) ultra-high-voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission link for 40 million US dollars. The project is expected to transmit 5,000 megawatts (MW) of water power over a distance of more than 1,950 kilometers to cover the electricity demand of 10 million people.

At the same time, the region around Guangdong, one of the world's most densely populated areas, is able to significantly reduce its coal consumption through the transmission link, which results in improvements in the health of the people through cleaner air. “Ultra-high-voltage technologies are a key element of our Next Level strategy and will help expansive countries like China to reliably and efficiently transport increasing amounts of clean, renewable power over greater distances,” says Claudio Facchin, President of ABB’s Power Grids division.

Meanwhile, another project that has gotten green light in recent days shows the whereabouts of the American grid. Clean Line Energy and GE Energy Connections are finally allowed to set up the 'Plains & Eastern Clean Line' - the largest grid expansion project in the United States for 20 years.

New high-voltage lines will be build on a route of 1,158 kilometers, which will bring 4,000 megawatts of wind power from Oklahoma to Arkansas, Tennessee and other states, providing access to clean electricity for more than one million citizens. (Image above: GE)

However, by no means the latest UHVDC technology will be used like in China, but the predecessor, the HVDC technology. The project, which is purely privately funded, will cost nothing more than 2.5 billion dollars, but will also provide hundreds of new jobs in the affected regions. “(America) has a wealth of sustainable resources. It has viable wind farms up and running. But for the U.S. to reach its renewable energy goals, the transmission grid must continue to evolve and be reinforced,” GE Energy Connections CEO Russell Stokes said in a blog post about the deal.

Image: AWEA

This cost discussion is not new in Germany, but will continue to provide for a fuse. This is because grid expansion is expensive everywhere and as long as the network operators extend the costs for the expansion to the electricity customers, it also does not help that the electricity costs for renewable energies itself are sinking ever further.