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

TL;DR

This study assesses whether a global Super grid facilitates solar power deployment, finding limited economic benefits and reduced solar investments despite extensive transmission infrastructure.

Contribution

It provides a detailed economic evaluation of the OSOWOG global Super grid, highlighting its limited advantages for solar deployment compared to regional grid expansion.

Findings

Global Super grid reduces system costs by 3.8%.

Regional grid expansion reduces costs by 12%.

Super grid decreases solar investments.

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.