The international climate negotiations held last week in Poznan, Poland had scientists and legislators laying out a super-grid plan that would transport renewables to Europe.
The super-grid would connect the big European nations like Germany, France, and the UK with large green energy sources. One option would be to further venture into North Africa to tap into its solar power and transport the energy to European countries.
Renewables have their stopping point. For instance, when the sun sets, the solar power then comes to a halt. However, with the super-grid, when the sun sets in the Sahara, Germany could switch from African solar to geothermal energy from the Alps or Iceland.
Britain is already tapping into France’s nuclear power with a super-grid in place; Denmark trades wind power with Norwegian hydroelectricity; and the national grids of Italy and Greece are connected under the Mediterranean.
Nick Dunlop, secretary general of an online network of parliamentarians (e-parliament), said: “This could be a blueprint for India, or northeastern Asia or the US or southern Africa. In all these areas, by linking up different sources of renewables, we can make them much more reliable, because they each provide back-up for the other.”
