IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v135y2019ics0301421519306056.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The non-technical barriers to large scale electricity networks: Analysing the case for the US and EU supergrids

Author

Listed:
  • Zarazua de Rubens, Gerardo
  • Noel, Lance

Abstract

Several studies have investigated large scale renewables, electricity networks and the potential for a supergrid, both in the US and the Europe. However, much of this work is focused on technical and economic barriers and under-recognises social, political and other non-technical aspects. This paper builds a conceptual framework to analyse the non-technical barriers, engagement of stakeholders and social risks to the proposed supergrids in the US and Europe. In doing so, we find 12 different non-technical situations (barriers) on each region that are present in the implementation of a supergrid, and can help guide the development of these economically efficient projects to address the social barriers and risks that they may face. From our results, we suggest a set of policy recommendations, parting with the introduction of an overarching body of governance for the coordination and implementation of the supergrid. This, we hope, provides a map and encouragement for policymakers, investors and stakeholders looking to develop and complete these megaprojects; recognising that some configuration of a supergrid is required to achieve a full penetration of renewables. Therefore, the results of this paper have a significant contribution in decarbonising energy production and supply systems, complying with national and international climate ambitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Zarazua de Rubens, Gerardo & Noel, Lance, 2019. "The non-technical barriers to large scale electricity networks: Analysing the case for the US and EU supergrids," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:135:y:2019:i:c:s0301421519306056
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.111018
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421519306056
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.111018?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Van de Graaf, Thijs & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2014. "Thinking big: Politics, progress, and security in the management of Asian and European energy megaprojects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 16-27.
    2. Mai, Trieu & Mulcahy, David & Hand, M. Maureen & Baldwin, Samuel F., 2014. "Envisioning a renewable electricity future for the United States," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 374-386.
    3. Noel, Lance & Brodie, Joseph F. & Kempton, Willett & Archer, Cristina L. & Budischak, Cory, 2017. "Cost minimization of generation, storage, and new loads, comparing costs with and without externalities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 110-121.
    4. Siano, Pierluigi, 2014. "Demand response and smart grids—A survey," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 461-478.
    5. Pensini, Alessandro & Rasmussen, Claus N. & Kempton, Willett, 2014. "Economic analysis of using excess renewable electricity to displace heating fuels," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 530-543.
    6. Lund, Henrik & Kempton, Willett, 2008. "Integration of renewable energy into the transport and electricity sectors through V2G," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 3578-3587, September.
    7. Roberts, Alasdair, 2010. "The Logic of Discipline: Global Capitalism and the Architecture of Government," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195374988.
    8. Arent, Doug & Pless, Jacquelyn & Mai, Trieu & Wiser, Ryan & Hand, Maureen & Baldwin, Sam & Heath, Garvin & Macknick, Jordan & Bazilian, Morgan & Schlosser, Adam & Denholm, Paul, 2014. "Implications of high renewable electricity penetration in the U.S. for water use, greenhouse gas emissions, land-use, and materials supply," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 368-377.
    9. Kwon, Pil Seok & Østergaard, Poul, 2014. "Assessment and evaluation of flexible demand in a Danish future energy scenario," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 309-320.
    10. Blarke, Morten B. & Jenkins, Bryan M., 2013. "SuperGrid or SmartGrid: Competing strategies for large-scale integration of intermittent renewables?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 381-390.
    11. Jacobson, Mark Z. & Delucchi, Mark A., 2011. "Providing all global energy with wind, water, and solar power, Part I: Technologies, energy resources, quantities and areas of infrastructure, and materials," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1154-1169, March.
    12. Feuerriegel, Stefan & Neumann, Dirk, 2016. "Integration scenarios of Demand Response into electricity markets: Load shifting, financial savings and policy implications," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 231-240.
    13. Brouwer, Anne Sjoerd & van den Broek, Machteld & Zappa, William & Turkenburg, Wim C. & Faaij, André, 2016. "Least-cost options for integrating intermittent renewables in low-carbon power systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 48-74.
    14. Haider, Haider Tarish & See, Ong Hang & Elmenreich, Wilfried, 2016. "A review of residential demand response of smart grid," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 166-178.
    15. Papaefthymiou, G. & Dragoon, Ken, 2016. "Towards 100% renewable energy systems: Uncapping power system flexibility," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 69-82.
    16. Delucchi, Mark A. & Jacobson, Mark Z., 2011. "Providing all global energy with wind, water, and solar power, Part II: Reliability, system and transmission costs, and policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1170-1190, March.
    17. Heide, Dominik & Greiner, Martin & von Bremen, Lüder & Hoffmann, Clemens, 2011. "Reduced storage and balancing needs in a fully renewable European power system with excess wind and solar power generation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 2515-2523.
    18. Lise Arena & Eamonn Molloy, 2010. "The Governance Paradox in Megaprojects," Post-Print halshs-00721622, HAL.
    19. Torriti, Jacopo, 2012. "Demand Side Management for the European Supergrid: Occupancy variances of European single-person households," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 199-206.
    20. Ashfaq, Asad & Kamali, Zulqarnain Haider & Agha, Mujtaba Hassan & Arshid, Hirra, 2017. "Heat coupling of the pan-European vs. regional electrical grid with excess renewable energy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 363-377.
    21. Heffron, Raphael J. & McCauley, Darren & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2015. "Resolving society's energy trilemma through the Energy Justice Metric," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 168-176.
    22. Goulden, Murray & Spence, Alexa & Wardman, Jamie & Leygue, Caroline, 2018. "Differentiating ‘the user’ in DSR: Developing demand side response in advanced economies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 176-185.
    23. Arman Aghahosseini & Dmitrii Bogdanov & Christian Breyer, 2017. "A Techno-Economic Study of an Entirely Renewable Energy-Based Power Supply for North America for 2030 Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-28, August.
    24. Eskandari Torbaghan, Mehran & Burrow, Michael P.N. & Hunt, Dexter V.L. & Elcheikh, Marwa, 2017. "Risk-Based Framework (RBF) for a UK Pan-European Supergrid," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 124-132.
    25. Detlef Vuuren & Elke Stehfest & Michel Elzen & Tom Kram & Jasper Vliet & Sebastiaan Deetman & Morna Isaac & Kees Klein Goldewijk & Andries Hof & Angelica Mendoza Beltran & Rineke Oostenrijk & Bas Ruij, 2011. "RCP2.6: exploring the possibility to keep global mean temperature increase below 2°C," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 109(1), pages 95-116, November.
    26. Pierri, Erika & Binder, Ole & Hemdan, Nasser G.A. & Kurrat, Michael, 2017. "Challenges and opportunities for a European HVDC grid," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 427-456.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fei Guo & Bas J. Ruijven & Behnam Zakeri & Shining Zhang & Xing Chen & Changyi Liu & Fang Yang & Volker Krey & Keywan Riahi & Han Huang & Yuanbing Zhou, 2022. "Implications of intercontinental renewable electricity trade for energy systems and emissions," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 7(12), pages 1144-1156, December.
    2. Elisabeth A. Shrimpton & Dexter Hunt & Chris D.F. Rogers, 2021. "Justice in (English) Water Infrastructure: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-18, March.
    3. Chen, Chien-fei & Nelson, Hannah & Xu, Xiaojing & Bonilla, Gregory & Jones, Nicholas, 2021. "Beyond technology adoption: Examining home energy management systems, energy burdens and climate change perceptions during COVID-19 pandemic," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    4. Farshchian, Ghazaleh & Darestani, Soroush Avakh & Hamidi, Naser, 2021. "Developing a decision-making dashboard for power losses attributes of Iran’s electricity distribution network," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Noel, Lance & Brodie, Joseph F. & Kempton, Willett & Archer, Cristina L. & Budischak, Cory, 2017. "Cost minimization of generation, storage, and new loads, comparing costs with and without externalities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 110-121.
    2. Blanco, Herib & Faaij, André, 2018. "A review at the role of storage in energy systems with a focus on Power to Gas and long-term storage," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 1049-1086.
    3. Ashfaq, Asad & Ianakiev, Anton, 2018. "Cost-minimised design of a highly renewable heating network for fossil-free future," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 613-626.
    4. Rodriguez, Rolando A. & Becker, Sarah & Greiner, Martin, 2015. "Cost-optimal design of a simplified, highly renewable pan-European electricity system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 658-668.
    5. Brown, T. & Schlachtberger, D. & Kies, A. & Schramm, S. & Greiner, M., 2018. "Synergies of sector coupling and transmission reinforcement in a cost-optimised, highly renewable European energy system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 720-739.
    6. Lenzen, Manfred & McBain, Bonnie & Trainer, Ted & Jütte, Silke & Rey-Lescure, Olivier & Huang, Jing, 2016. "Simulating low-carbon electricity supply for Australia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 553-564.
    7. Ashfaq, Asad & Kamali, Zulqarnain Haider & Agha, Mujtaba Hassan & Arshid, Hirra, 2017. "Heat coupling of the pan-European vs. regional electrical grid with excess renewable energy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 363-377.
    8. Meyabadi, A. Fattahi & Deihimi, M.H., 2017. "A review of demand-side management: Reconsidering theoretical framework," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 367-379.
    9. Mathiesen, B.V. & Lund, H. & Connolly, D. & Wenzel, H. & Østergaard, P.A. & Möller, B. & Nielsen, S. & Ridjan, I. & Karnøe, P. & Sperling, K. & Hvelplund, F.K., 2015. "Smart Energy Systems for coherent 100% renewable energy and transport solutions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 139-154.
    10. Connolly, D. & Lund, H. & Mathiesen, B.V., 2016. "Smart Energy Europe: The technical and economic impact of one potential 100% renewable energy scenario for the European Union," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1634-1653.
    11. Nizami, Sohrab & Tushar, Wayes & Hossain, M.J. & Yuen, Chau & Saha, Tapan & Poor, H. Vincent, 2022. "Transactive energy for low voltage residential networks: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    12. Ashfaq, Asad & Ianakiev, Anton, 2018. "Features of fully integrated renewable energy atlas for Pakistan; wind, solar and cooling," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 14-27.
    13. Diesendorf, Mark & Elliston, Ben, 2018. "The feasibility of 100% renewable electricity systems: A response to critics," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 318-330.
    14. Campos, José & Csontos, Csaba & Munkácsy, Béla, 2023. "Electricity scenarios for Hungary: Possible role of wind and solar resources in the energy transition," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(PB).
    15. Bove, Roberto & Bucher, Matthias & Ferretti, Fabio, 2012. "Integrating large shares of wind energy in macro-economical cost-effective way," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 438-447.
    16. Martin Robinius & Alexander Otto & Philipp Heuser & Lara Welder & Konstantinos Syranidis & David S. Ryberg & Thomas Grube & Peter Markewitz & Ralf Peters & Detlef Stolten, 2017. "Linking the Power and Transport Sectors—Part 1: The Principle of Sector Coupling," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-22, July.
    17. Zhu, K. & Victoria, M. & Brown, T. & Andresen, G.B. & Greiner, M., 2019. "Impact of CO2 prices on the design of a highly decarbonised coupled electricity and heating system in Europe," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 622-634.
    18. Griffiths, Steven, 2017. "A review and assessment of energy policy in the Middle East and North Africa region," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 249-269.
    19. Bartlett, Stuart & Dujardin, Jérôme & Kahl, Annelen & Kruyt, Bert & Manso, Pedro & Lehning, Michael, 2018. "Charting the course: A possible route to a fully renewable Swiss power system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 942-955.
    20. Cole, Wesley & Lewis, Haley & Sigrin, Ben & Margolis, Robert, 2016. "Interactions of rooftop PV deployment with the capacity expansion of the bulk power system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 473-481.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:135:y:2019:i:c:s0301421519306056. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.