The downside to renewable energy is the reliability in each application. Wave/tidal energy is insufficient if the sea is calm; wind might not always be available; sunlight isn’t accessible 24 hours a day unless located at one of the Poles; and hydro is problematic if a drought occurs. However, nine countries in Europe are attempting to building a high-voltage direct current network within the next decade.
Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, and the UK will try to connect Scotland’s wind turbines to Germany’s solar panels, riding the waves on the Belgian and Danish coasts, in addition to adding Norway’s hydro dams to the mix. The renewable energy power scheme will hit the political arena this month as each of the participating countries draw up plans to link their clean energy projects around the North Sea.
The network, made up of thousands of kilometers of highly efficient undersea cables that could cost up to €30 billion, would mean electricity could be supplied across the continent despite the weather. And this project could also be a gateway that would link the Sahara solar power export project planned for North Africa (Desertec Initiative).
The price of such a grid is unknown at this time, but a 2008 study by Greenpeace on a similar grid that could be completed by 2025 put costs at €15 billion to €20 billion. The European Wind Energy Association conducted a 2009 study that suggested the costs of connecting the proposed 100 GW wind farms and building interconnectors could push the costs closer to €30 billion.