Chasing the eternal sun: Does a global super grid favor the deployment of solar power?

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Kan, Xiaoming, Hedenus, Fredrik, Reichenberg, Lina
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Kan, Xiaoming
Hedenus, Fredrik
Reichenberg, Lina
author_facet Kan, Xiaoming
Hedenus, Fredrik
Reichenberg, Lina
contents The One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) initiative advocates the development of a global Super grid for sharing renewable energy, especially solar energy. This study evaluates the economic benefits of such a Super grid, which connects six large regions spanning from Australia to the US, utilizing a detailed energy system optimization model and considering heterogeneous discount rates among countries. Integrating the six regions into a Super grid reduces the electricity system cost by 3.8% compared to isolating them. In contrast, grid expansion within each region reduces the electricity system cost by 12% on average. The economic benefits of the OSOWOG initiative's global Super grid expansion seem to be rather limited. Moreover, the allowance for a Super grid consistently results in decreased investments in solar power, indicating that it is not an effective strategy for enhancing the deployment of solar power, even when transmission grids covering 18 time zones are available.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2405_16913
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Chasing the eternal sun: Does a global super grid favor the deployment of solar power?
Kan, Xiaoming
Hedenus, Fredrik
Reichenberg, Lina
Physics and Society
The One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) initiative advocates the development of a global Super grid for sharing renewable energy, especially solar energy. This study evaluates the economic benefits of such a Super grid, which connects six large regions spanning from Australia to the US, utilizing a detailed energy system optimization model and considering heterogeneous discount rates among countries. Integrating the six regions into a Super grid reduces the electricity system cost by 3.8% compared to isolating them. In contrast, grid expansion within each region reduces the electricity system cost by 12% on average. The economic benefits of the OSOWOG initiative's global Super grid expansion seem to be rather limited. Moreover, the allowance for a Super grid consistently results in decreased investments in solar power, indicating that it is not an effective strategy for enhancing the deployment of solar power, even when transmission grids covering 18 time zones are available.
title Chasing the eternal sun: Does a global super grid favor the deployment of solar power?
topic Physics and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.16913