Global Energy Interconnection: An Unprecedented Challenge

China Energy Storage Network News : On September 26, 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the United Nations Development Summit, pointing out that China proposed to explore the construction of a global energy internet and promote the use of clean and green methods to meet global electricity demand. Since the proposal was put forward, it has been hotly discussed at home and abroad.

What does global energy internet mean? What is the path to its realization? In the last two days of March, elites from the world’s energy field gathered in Beijing to discuss this issue.

Global Energy Internet is about to emerge

"No matter how fast a plane is, it still takes 13 or 14 hours to reach New York from Beijing Airport. If electricity is transmitted from Beijing to the United States at a speed of 300,000 kilometers per second, how long will it take? The global allocation of power resources is just that fast." Liu Zhenya, chairman of the State Grid Corporation of China, gave a very vivid explanation when answering a reporter's question on March 30, "After the global energy internet is built, the global allocation of power resources will be completely achievable."

Energy, air, water and food are the basic resources necessary for human survival. So far, the earth has been born 4.6 billion years ago, and the large-scale development and use of fossil energy has been less than 300 years, but it is already facing three severe challenges: resource shortage, environmental pollution and climate change.

"The United Nations will support and promote the construction of a global energy internet as an important solution to accelerate energy transformation, achieve clean development and address climate change." Wu Hongbo, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, made it clear at the 2016 Global Energy Internet Conference which opened on March 30 that through the global energy internet, we can achieve full utilization of renewable energy while meeting the world's energy needs and providing sufficient sustainable energy, and ultimately achieve the goal of "sustainable energy for all."

The Global Energy Internet is an energy system of "smart grid + ultra-high voltage grid + clean energy". In this system, the smart grid is the foundation, the ultra-high voltage grid is the key, and clean energy is the basis.

"The Global Energy Internet is an energy infrastructure covering the entire world, involving multiple fields such as power sources, power grids, equipment, scientific research, and information. It has large investment needs, a long industrial chain, and strong driving force. By 2050, the cumulative investment in the Global Energy Internet will exceed 50 trillion US dollars," said Li Yining, a professor at Peking University and a famous economist.

Innovative model to solve sustainable energy supply

"Energy is the lifeline of every economy. Nearly one-fifth of the world's population still does not have access to modern electricity services, and 3 billion people are still burning wood and using polluting fuels. Against this background, the Global Energy Internet will enable all mankind to share resources, which is of great significance," said Frans Freswick, Secretary-General and CEO of the International Electrotechnical Commission.

At the current development intensity, the world's proven coal reserves can only be mined for more than 110 years, and oil and natural gas can only be mined for more than 50 years. In addition, the large-scale development and use of fossil energy has caused serious pollution and damage to the atmosphere, water quality, soil, and landforms.

Information released at the 2016 Global Energy Internet Conference shows that through the Global Energy Internet, from now on, global clean energy only needs to maintain an average annual growth rate of 12.4%, and by 2050 the proportion can be increased to more than 80%, achieving a sustainable and clean energy supply; by 2050, global carbon dioxide emissions will be controlled at around 11.5 billion tons, only half of the emission level in the early 1990s, and the global temperature rise can be controlled within 2°C.

Motuma Megasa, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity of Ethiopia, said that the upper reaches of the Nile River in Ethiopia have abundant water resources and are known as the "African Water Tower", with huge potential for export. He hopes to incorporate the regional interconnection plan of the region into the development plan of the Global Energy Internet, and to include the cross-border interconnection project of the East African region as the first batch of cooperation projects of the Global Energy Internet, and to accelerate its implementation.

Many countries in Africa, Asia and South America are rich in clean energy such as wind power, solar power and hydropower. Through the global energy Internet, the resource advantages of these regions can be transformed into economic advantages that benefit the entire people and narrow regional differences.

Collaborating to build the most complex system ever

Frans Freswick believes that the Global Energy Internet may become the most complex system in history, which will further enhance the concept of "system of systems". The Global Energy Internet also brings a series of unprecedented challenges. How can we break through and develop in the future?

Liu Zhenya said that the technical foundation has been established, and consensus must be reached as soon as possible, team coordination and cooperation must be strengthened, and the starting project must be selected, which requires all parties to seek the greatest common divisor of interests. If leaders of various countries reach a consensus to promote the global energy Internet, it will play a huge role.

According to reports, the global energy internet will be divided into three stages: domestic interconnection, intra-continental interconnection, and intercontinental interconnection, and will be coordinated and promoted. The goal is to basically complete the construction of the global energy internet by 2050.

On March 30, power grid companies of China, Japan, South Korea and Russia jointly signed the "Memorandum of Cooperation on Northeast Asian Power Grid Interconnection". The Northeast Asian interconnection will connect the renewable energy bases in Mongolia, Northeast my country and North China, and the Russian Far East with load centers in North my country, Japan and South Korea, and realize the large-scale development and utilization of regional renewable energy. At the same time, in order to strengthen international cooperation, the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization was unveiled on the same day, with the first batch of 80 members from five continents including Asia, Europe, Africa, America and Oceania, marking the entry of the Global Energy Interconnection into a new stage of comprehensive development.

At the closing ceremony of the 2016 Global Energy Internet Conference held on the 31st, the "Global Energy Internet Development Cooperation Declaration" was released, proposing an eight-point initiative to strengthen cooperative development.