The grid and renewables: supersize me
Climate talks in Poznan, Poland, this week included a meeting to discuss the concept of a super-grid that would connect renewable-rich regions to energy-hungry regions via high-voltage, direct-current (HVDC) cables. It’s an attractive idea. If Iceland has all the geothermal, North Africa has the solar, Scotland has the offshore wind and the coasts can tap wave power, why not build a grid that can carry that emission-free power to inland population centres that rely on fossil fuels and nuclear?
The same thinking is happening in the United States. That is, the idea of modernizing and beefing up the grid so solar power in the southwest and wind in the mid-west can be carried to other parts of the United States less rich in renewable resources. Guys like Al Gore, Barrack Obama and Vinod Khosla are big promoters of a smart-grid buildout, and rightly so.
It’s an inevitable course. If the oil and gas companies can build massive pipelines that pump petroleum from one side of the continent to the other, there’s no reason we can’t get to a stage where the abundant electrons in a nation’s solar, wind, water and geothermal “reserves” can be pumped to far-off markets in need.
