Europeans Dream of a 'Supergrid,' but Many Wires Need Connecting

European energy planners have a dream: an electricity grid spanning the continent and farther, one that seamlessly blends in the sharply rising but wildly fluctuating power coming from renewable sources and, at the same time, cuts transmission losses.

From the wind and wave-rich north to the sun-soaked south, the goal is to make sure not only that the electricity is low-carbon as part of the battle against climate change but also that it gets to where it is needed, when it is needed. The ideal would be to make the connections without consumers’ being the least bit aware that one moment they are watching television powered from Scottish winds and the next from the Sahara sun.

If built in time, the so-called “supergrid” could play an important part in the 27-nation European Union’s ambitious bid to get 20 percent of its primary energy from renewable sources by 2020. But there is a thicket of obstacles in front of this scheme, the larger ones being cost, bureaucracy and history.

Unlike in the United States, where most states’ utilities are tied into one of two large grid interconnections east and west of the Rocky Mountains, supergrid will require links between nations and regions that haven’t been connected before. “There are many technical as well as financial barriers to the development of the supergrid, but there are many institutional barriers, too,”

NY Times