Chinese scientists propose creating a single global renewable energy system to solve problems of generation fluctuations worth $116.9 trillion

Scientists from China, the United States and Denmark have proposed creating a single global renewable energy system that would allow for the difference in time and climate conditions to level out fluctuations in production and consumption. Investments in the project could reach $116.9 trillion.

The study was conducted by scientists from the Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), with colleagues from the University of Copenhagen, Columbia University and Stanford University. The article was published in the journal Nature Communications.

They proposed a step-by-step path to creating a fully coordinated global system of solar and wind power, storage, and ultra-high-voltage underwater grids for long-distance transmission, generating 3.1 times more electricity than demand. They calculated that the investment in the project would reach a whopping $116.9 trillion, but that would still be $22.5 trillion less than the combined cost of developing independent power systems in every single region of the world.

The researchers' scenario envisions the creation of contiguous interconnections between regions in the 2030s, expanding to continental interconnections in the 2040s, and culminating in a global system by the 2050s.

The system must solve the main disadvantage of modern solar and wind generation – uneven electricity generation depending on the time of day and weather.

"The peak power generation in different regions is reached at different times, which means that the international energy market can provide 24-hour power supply. The implementation of the global solar-wind system involves the transmission of ultra-high voltage power through long-distance submarine cables, the development of smart grids, and large-scale renewable energy production and storage," said Yao Ling, associate professor at the Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

According to him, the implementation of the system requires the coordination of national interests, taking into account energy security parameters and international differences in the legislative regulation of the renewable energy market, as well as strengthening trust in the common infrastructure.

“Many regions, such as the deserts of North Africa, the steppes of Central Asia, the windswept plains of Patagonia and the sun-drenched areas of Western Australia, have world-class solar and wind resources, but little local demand. A global solar-wind system would greatly stimulate renewable energy development in such regions if transmission lines were built to the centres of global energy demand, such as East Asia, Europe and North America. These regions could monetise their energy advantages, making it economically viable to build supporting energy infrastructure,” says Yao Ling.

“China is already starting to work on a similar system at the scale of the Asian market, importing wind and solar power from Mongolia or hydropower from Southeast Asia to help balance regional demand or seasonal imbalances, while China’s own renewable energy plants could supply excess power to high-demand regions such as South Korea and Japan via undersea or cross-border interconnectors,” Yao says.