At the Speed of Light? Electricity Interconnections for Europe

Authors : NIES Susanne   Gouvernance européenne et géopolitique de l'énergie, tome 8 Series :  Distribution ISBN :  9782865926213  Price : 15 Euros, 18 $US, 98.4 FF Publication Date :  Jan 2010 trade paperback, 168 p.

Electricity moves almost at the speed of light: 273,000 km per second. The speed of electricity makes it the ultimate "just in time" commodity. A problem anywhere can be transmitted every where in a nanosecond.
Electricity interconnection is a prominent issue in the news, sometimes even featured as a panacea for the shortcomings of the European electricity market – a panacea that will ensure security o supply, solidarity and pave the way for a promising use of renewables in the future.
The present study is devoted to electricity interconnections in Europe, their current state and the projects concerning them.
The study addresses the following questions:
- What is the role of interconnections in the development of a sustainable grid that can emerge from the existing pieces, make optimum use of existing generation capacity, ensure energy security, and offer economies of scales? What is their role in the process of building a different energy concept, one that would be concerned with climate change and thus in favour of the use of renewables?
- How are existing interconnections exploited and governed, and how can their exploitation be improved? Does the EU need more and new interconnections; and if so, where and why, and who is going to finance them?
Prominent projects as such as Desertec, the debate on DC or AC lines, or the limits of synchronization, as well as the state of a potential East-West electricity linkage between Former Soviet Union and EU, termed UCTE-UPS/IPS, are discussed in the volume.
The study finishes with recommendations for policy makers.

  Contents: Executive Summary. Introduction. Independent Variables and Legacies. A Complex European Governance. Existing Lines and Missing Links. Perspectives and Policy Recommendations. Annex.

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