Chasing the Eternal Sun: Does a Global Super Grid Favor the Deployment of Solar Power?

21 Pages Posted: 9 Aug 2024

See all articles by Xiaoming Kan

Xiaoming Kan

Chalmers University of Technology - Department of Space, Earth and Environment

Fredrik Hedenus

Chalmers University of Technology - Department of Space, Earth and Environment

Lina Rechenberg

Chalmers University of Technology - Department of Space, Earth and Environment

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Super grid, Electricity trade, solar power, Renewable energy, Variation management, Energy system modeling

Suggested Citation

Kan, Xiaoming and Hedenus, Fredrik and Reichenberg, Lina, Chasing the Eternal Sun: Does a Global Super Grid Favor the Deployment of Solar Power?. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4921069

Xiaoming Kan (Contact Author)

Chalmers University of Technology - Department of Space, Earth and Environment ( email )

Gothenburg, SE-412 96
Sweden

Fredrik Hedenus

Chalmers University of Technology - Department of Space, Earth and Environment ( email )

Gothenburg, SE-412 96
Sweden

Lina Reichenberg

Chalmers University of Technology - Department of Space, Earth and Environment ( email )

Gothenburg, SE-412 96
Sweden

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
2
Abstract Views
44
PlumX Metrics