BritNed power cable boosts hopes for European supergrid

article

Summary
After five years of construction, the power cable between UK and the Netherlands has been completed. It has the capacity of 1,000MW and is seen as the first step towards building an European supergrid. This grid will be used to import and export renewable energy generated by, for example, wind power and solar power. Its completion should increase the energy security in the UK. Building the supergrid should take about 10-15 years. More lines are planned by 2020, linking the UK to Norway, Belgium and France. There are also plans for lines within the UK, linking Scotland and England on both east and west coasts.


Comment
The supergrid seems like a positive development. Renewable energy can be shared between countries, and surplus energy can be ‘sent’ to places that are experiencing a low ‘production’.  However, I wonder whether adding money to the mix might cause problems. By making it so that countries can buy and sell their natural power resources, there is a chance that certain nations will not be able to compete or outbid each other.  It is impossible to make the grid a free-for-all, though, as this also has its downsides. Rather, I think there should be a system in which countries all get a fair share of usage of the cables.

\o.o/

First post, yay!