SuperSmart Grid
Encyclopedia
Wide area synchronous grid
A wide area synchronous grid, also called an "interconnection" in North America, is a power grid at a regional scale or greater that operates at a synchronized frequency and is electrically tied together during normal system conditions...
connecting Europe with northern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and the IPS/UPS
IPS/UPS
The IPS/UPS is a wide area synchronous transmission grid of some CIS countries with a common mode of operation and centralized supervisory control. It has an installed generation capacity of 300 gigawatts, and produces 1,200 terawatt-hours per year for its 280 million customers...
system of CIS
CIS
CIS usually refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, a modern political entity consisting of eleven former Soviet Union republics.The acronym CIS may also refer to:-Organizations:...
countries. The system would unify super grid
Super grid
A super grid is a wide area transmission network that makes it possible to trade high volumes of electricity across great distances. It is sometimes also referred to as a "mega grid".-History:...
and smart grid capabilities into a comprehensive network. There is no planned locations for infrastructure or schedule explicitly for the SSG; the name is used to discuss the economic and technological feasibility of such a network and ways that it might gain political support.
The ambitious upgrade and unification of current transmission
Electric power transmission
Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
and/or distribution
Electricity distribution
File:Electricity grid simple- North America.svg|thumb|380px|right|Simplified diagram of AC electricity distribution from generation stations to consumers...
grids finds support among advocates of large scale utilization of alternative energy, and as well as advocates of enhanced energy security
Energy security
Energy security is a term for an association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven distribution of energy supplies among countries has led...
for Europe. The SSG proposal was initiated by the European Climate Forum
European Climate Forum
The European Climate Forum is a platform for joint studies and science-based stakeholder dialogues on climatic change. ECF brings together representatives of different parties concerned with the climate problem.-Objectives and Vision:...
and at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research is a research institute specialising in the fields of global change, climate impact and sustainable development.-References:* USA Today -Further Reading:* Study -See Also:* Climatic Research Unit...
by Antonella Battaglini and colleagues.
History
The concept of a "Super Grid" is not new- the term itself was used to describe the emerging unification of the Great Britain grid in the 60s. Europe has been unifying its grids since the 1950s and its largest unified gridWide area synchronous grid
A wide area synchronous grid, also called an "interconnection" in North America, is a power grid at a regional scale or greater that operates at a synchronized frequency and is electrically tied together during normal system conditions...
is the synchronous grid of Continental Europe serving 24 countries. There are studies and ongoing discussions regarding creation of a synchronous grid spanning 13 time zones that would result from unifying the UCTE grid with that of the IPS/UPS Interconnection serving Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union. Such mega systems are experiencing scaling problems as a result of network complexity, transmission congestion, and the need for rapid diagnostic, coordination and control systems. Advocates of schemes such as the SuperSmart Grid claim that such a major technological upgrade is necessary to assure the practical operation and promised benefits of such transcontinental mega grids.
Concept
The concept of a wide area "Super grid" with centralized control and the concept of small-scale, local and decentralized smart grid are two approaches that are often perceived as being mutually exclusive alternatives. The SSG aims at reconciling the two approaches and considers them complementary and necessary to realize a transition towards a fully decarbonizedLow-carbon economy
A Low-Carbon Economy or Low-Fossil-Fuel Economy is an economy that has a minimal output of greenhouse gas emissions into the environment biosphere, but specifically refers to the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide...
electricity system. The super grid features would deliver inexpensive, high capacity, low loss transmission, interconnecting producers and consumers of electricity across vast distances. Smart grid capabilities use the local grid's transmission and distribution network to coordinate distributed generation, grid storage
Grid energy storage
Grid energy storage refers to the methods used to store electricity on a large scale within an electrical power grid. Electrical energy is stored during times when production exceeds consumption and the stores are used at times when consumption exceeds production...
and consumption into a cluster that appears to the super grid as a virtual power plant
Virtual power plant
A virtual power plant is a cluster of distributed generation installations which are collectively run by a central control entity....
.
The word SuperSmart Grid was invented by Antonella Battaglini and used the first time in the position paper for the energy conference in Lund
Lund
-Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund...
in 2007. In the context of the SuperSmart Grid, advocates use the term "super grid" to refer to a network super imposed on top of local grid networks and should not be confused with the proper noun "SuperGrid
SuperGrid
The SuperGrid refers the existing high voltage transmission grid in Great Britain that was constructed in the 1960s, and to various overseas parallels, including the concept, again in the British context, of increased connectivity to our neighbours...
" which refers to an undeveloped technology for combining hydrogen and electricity distribution.
Implementation practicalities
The SSG relies on existing technology. The SuperSmart Grid would employ high voltage direct current (HVDC) cables in its first-generation implementation to integrate the European electricity market and possibly connect it to neighboring regions, such as North Africa, and their vast renewable energy resources, such as those that could be unlocked by the DESERTECDesertec
DESERTEC is a concept proposed by the DESERTEC Foundation for making use of solar energy and wind energy. This concept will be implemented in North Africa and the Middle East by the consortium Dii GmbH, formed by a group of European companies and the DESERTEC Foundation...
& Medgrid
Medgrid
Medgrid, created at the end of 2010 in Paris, is a large industrial project planned in North Africa, which aims to promote and develop a Euro-Mediterranean electricity network that would provide North Africa & Europe with inexpensive renewable electricity, mostly from solar...
project. The SuperSmart Grid would operate 'on top' of the local high voltage AC (HVAC) grids. Existing AC grids would still transmit electricity over shorter domestic distances, but be upgraded to smart grids.
Dr Gregor Czisch of Kassel University, has constructed and optimized a model indicating that an entirely renewable electric supply system is possible at today's electric prices.
Initial work
An initial project proposed by Irish wind farm developer Airtricity (Formerly Eirtricity) and Swiss engineering firm ABB would provide a chain of undersea cable connections extending from the Baltic Sea southward to Spain and servicing areas between the endpoints. Proponents of the project claim that this western corridor could be in service as early as 2015. The first segments would provide two 5000 megawatt links connecting a new 10,000 megawatt group of wind parks in the North Sea with consumers in the UK and continental Europe.See also
- Wide area synchronous gridWide area synchronous gridA wide area synchronous grid, also called an "interconnection" in North America, is a power grid at a regional scale or greater that operates at a synchronized frequency and is electrically tied together during normal system conditions...
- Smart grid
- European super gridEuropean super gridThe European super grid is a possible future super grid that would ultimately interconnect the various European countries and the regions around Europe's borders – including North Africa, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, etc...
, Synchronous grid of Continental Europe - Unified Smart GridUnified Smart GridUnified National Smart Grid is a proposal for a United States wide area grid that is a national interconnected network relying on a high capacity backbone of electric power transmission lines linking all the nation's local electrical networks that have been upgraded to smart grids...
- Super gridSuper gridA super grid is a wide area transmission network that makes it possible to trade high volumes of electricity across great distances. It is sometimes also referred to as a "mega grid".-History:...
- Pickens planPickens PlanThe Pickens Plan is an energy policy proposal announced July 8, 2008 by American businessman T. Boone Pickens. Pickens wants to reduce American dependence on imported oil by investing approximately $US1 trillion in new wind turbine farms for power generation, which he believes would allow the...
- V2G
- North Sea Offshore GridNorth Sea Offshore GridThe North Sea Offshore Grid, officially the North Seas Countries Offshore Grid Initiative , is a collaboration between EU member-states and Norway to create an integrated offshore energy grid which links wind farms and other renewable energy sources across the northern seas of Europe...
- DESERTECDesertecDESERTEC is a concept proposed by the DESERTEC Foundation for making use of solar energy and wind energy. This concept will be implemented in North Africa and the Middle East by the consortium Dii GmbH, formed by a group of European companies and the DESERTEC Foundation...
- MedgridMedgridMedgrid, created at the end of 2010 in Paris, is a large industrial project planned in North Africa, which aims to promote and develop a Euro-Mediterranean electricity network that would provide North Africa & Europe with inexpensive renewable electricity, mostly from solar...