Less than 3% of all power crosses a border, leading to high prices and inefficiencies worldwide. Energy prices in Norway have been spiking as of late as the normally windy North Sea has turned calm, resulting in their reliance on wind power to come back to haunt them. Politicians are proposing the idea of connecting international cables to curb problems like this.
The idea is that when there is a windy day in Norway and they have an excess amount of power, they can send it to another country where whatever renewable source they use is not in excess. In simplified terms, power can flow from where it is cheap to where it is costlier. This would allow for cheaper energy on both sides of the cable and help in cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Norway does have state-owned power plants unlike the United States whose energy giants would never allow an efficient service like this. An additional worry is the potential for sabotaging the lines due to political differences like the Taiwanese subsea communication link that may have been this month.
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/01/23/to-make-electricity-cheaper-and-greener-connect-the-worlds-grids
1 comment:
For some reason, when I read this I can only imagine a border game from game theory with Shapley values ruling the decision making. I feel like it could be a good idea if the system isn't directly dependent on one source, but can also see the issues raised by the article such as political differences.
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