Global Grid To be New Growth Engine: State Grid of China Corp (SGCC)

[cirr]

China State Grid quietly builds Mediterranean power network

Sun Aug 10, 2014 4:13am EDT

* SGCC eyes Greek, Spain grids after Portugal, Italy bids

* State Grid set to build regional EU grid portfolio

* Hands-off style eases fears of foreign grid ownership

* Low yield requirements let it outbid funds, EU grids

PARIS/HONG KONG/MILAN: The European Commission has long wanted the continent's power grids to work in unison for reasons of efficiency and supply security, so far to little avail, but a regional power network could soon be a reality, courtesy of State Grid Corporation of China.

While Europe's utilities have met hostility to cross-border forays and been outbid by infrastructure funds, State Grid, the world's largest utility by revenues, with its deep pockets and reputation for hands-off management, has had an easier ride, buying minority stakes in Portuguese and Italian grid operators and pursuing designs on Greece and Spain, too.

If all goes to plan, it would become the first utility to build a major regional electricity grid portfolio, a feat that the Commission had hoped Europe's big grid operators would have achieved in the five years since it forced the separation of the grids from power production to increase market competition.

For wholly state-owned State Grid, which distributes electricity to 1.1 billion people across 90 percent of China, the appeal of the consistent, regulated income from European power assets is obvious.

A State Grid official familiar with its overseas strategy said projects abroad typically yield high single-digit to double-digit returns, compared with low single digits at home.

Its relatively low yield requirements give it an edge over Western infrastructure funds and European sector peers.

In a recent statement, an official in State Grid's international business department said it was actively investing in regulated electricity assets and realising steady returns.

"When we make overseas investment, we are not doing charity," he said.

As State Grid builds up its portfolio, it could start thinking about linking up its assets across the region; the ownership of several grids by one operator allows easier cross-country power-load balancing, so it doesn't get caught out by peaks in one area and can shift power within its own network rather than being forced to parlay with a competitor.

STRATEGIC POSITIONING

In 2012, State Grid bought 25 percent of Portuguese grid operator REN, then last month it entered Italy with a deal to buy 35 percent of CDP Reti for at least 2.1 billion euros ($2.8 billion).

CDP Reti owns 30 percent of gas transport group Snam and is set to receive a similar stake in power grid Terna.

State Grid, with Terna and Belgium's Elia, is also bidding for 66 percent of Greek grid operator ADMIE, sources told Reuters in May, and is interested in bidding for German utility E.ON's northern Spanish grid, which serves 650,000 customers and could sell for as much 1 billion euros, a source familiar with the parties told Reuters.

E.ON has launched the sale process and first bids are due next week.

"After the recent investments of SGCC in South Europe, there is indeed a strategic positioning within the region," ADMIE Chairman and CEO Yiannis Yiarentis told Reuters.

Patient and discreet, State Grid only invests where it is welcome, shying away from hostile bids, and has seized on the opportunities afforded by privatisations in cash-strapped southern euro zone countries.

State Grid Executive Vice President Zheng Baosen told Reuters last year China was ready to invest further in European utilities "if the price is right".

In addition to Europe, it has made major investments in power grids in Brazil, the Philippines, Australia and Hong Kong.

Its total overseas assets now exceed $23 billion, and the profits of its overseas operations rose to 3.2 billion yuan ($520 million) in 2013 from 800 million in 2009.

An official at a Brussels-based utilities lobby said Chinese utilities have huge ambitions in Europe and are sending countless missions to ask for advice on where to invest.

Besides China's grid operator, its power producers are also breaking into Europe. In 2011, China Three Gorges paid 2.7 billion euros for a 21 percent stake in Energias de Portugal, and EDP chief executive Antonio Mexia has said his shareholder is looking at other opportunities in Europe.

In October, China General Nuclear Corporation and China National Nuclear Corporation agreed to take a joint 30-40 percent stake in an EDF-led consortium to build a 16 billion pound nuclear plant in Britain.

HANDS-OFF, HANDS-ON?

Fear of foreign control of electricity networks has been a powerful inhibitor to the integration of EU grids. With the exception of Elia and Dutch Tennet's grid investments in Germany, there has been remarkably little cross-border grid investment in Europe.

Consulting firm Accenture's Jean-Marc Ollagnier, who advises Chinese utilities, said the Chinese are welcome partners as they provide investment and don't usually get involved in operations.

"In general, when a Chinese firm acquires a foreign company, it will leave local management in charge. When a European or U.S. utility buys a stake in a foreign company, you will likely soon have 10 guys who come and tell it what to do," he added.

Insiders say State Grid has given a free rein to Portugal's REN and helped it get credit. Last year, REN won access to a 1 billion euro financing line from China's Development Bank thanks to its Chinese shareholder.

But indications are that State Grid wants to play a more active role in CDP Reti, which might foreshadow a more interventionist Chinese stance in Europe.

A CDP Reti group source said the SGCC deal was "a bit more than just a financial operation".

He said the deal envisages a five to seven year period of "inserimento" (insertion), during which the Chinese will get to know the local market.

The Chinese company puts it much more forcefully.

"State Grid is not just a passive financial investor. It will actively take part in the management of CDP-Reti. This is not a financial investment, more like a strategic investment," the State Grid official said. - Reuters

China State Grid quietly builds Mediterranean power network| Reuters

 

[haidian]

China State Grid quietly builds Mediterranean power network
August 11, 2014 12:00 AM

By Geert De Clercq, Charlie Zhu and Stephen Jewkes / Reuters
PARIS — The European Commission has long wanted the continent’s power grids to work in unison for reasons of efficiency and supply security, so far to little avail, but a regional power network could soon be a reality, courtesy of State Grid Corporation of China.

While Europe’s utilities have met hostility to cross-border forays and been outbid by infrastructure funds, State Grid, the world’s largest utility by revenues, with its deep pockets and reputation for hands-off management, has had an easier ride, buying minority stakes in Portuguese and Italian grid operators and pursuing designs on Greece and Spain, too.

If all goes to plan, it would become the first utility to build a major regional electricity grid portfolio, a feat that the Commission had hoped Europe’s big grid operators would have achieved in the five years since it forced the separation of the grids from power production to increase market competition.

For wholly state-owned State Grid, which distributes electricity to 1.1 billion people across 90 percent of China, the appeal of the consistent, regulated income from European power assets is obvious.

A State Grid official familiar with its overseas strategy said projects abroad typically yield high single-digit to double-digit returns, compared with low single digits at home.

Its relatively low yield requirements give it an edge over Western infrastructure funds and European sector peers.

In a recent statement, an official in State Grid’s international business department said it was actively investing in regulated electricity assets and realizing steady returns.

“When we make overseas investment, we are not doing charity,” he said.

As State Grid builds up its portfolio, it could start thinking about linking up its assets across the region; the ownership of several grids by one operator allows easier cross-country power-load balancing, so it doesn’t get caught out by peaks in one area and can shift power within its own network rather than being forced to parlay with a competitor.

In 2012, State Grid bought 25 percent of Portuguese grid operator REN, then last month it entered Italy with a deal to buy 35 percent of CDP Reti for at least $2.8 billion.

CDP Reti owns 30 percent of gas transport group Snam and is set to receive a similar stake in power grid Terna.

State Grid, with Terna and Belgium’s Elia, is also bidding for 66 percent of Greek grid operator ADMIE, sources told Reuters in May, and is interested in bidding for German utility E.ON’s northern Spanish grid, which serves 650,000 customers and could sell for as much 1 billion euros, a source familiar with the parties told Reuters.

E.ON has launched the sale process and first bids are due next week.

“After the recent investments of SGCC in South Europe, there is indeed a strategic positioning within the region,” Yiannis Yiarentis, ADMIE chairman and CEO, told Reuters.

Patient and discreet, State Grid only invests where it is welcome, shying away from hostile bids, and has seized on the opportunities afforded by privatizations in cash-strapped southern euro zone countries.

Zheng Baosen, State Grid executive vice president, told Reuters last year China was ready to invest further in European utilities “if the price is right.”

In addition to Europe, it has made major investments in power grids in Brazil, the Philippines, Australia and Hong Kong.

Its total overseas assets now exceed $23 billion, and the profits of its overseas operations rose to $520 million in 2013 from 800 million in 2009.

An official at a Brussels-based utilities lobby said Chinese utilities have huge ambitions in Europe and are sending countless missions to ask for advice on where to invest.

Besides China’s grid operator, its power producers are also breaking into Europe. In 2011, China Three Gorges paid 2.7 billion euros for a 21 percent stake in Energias de Portugal, and EDP chief executive Antonio Mexia has said his shareholder is looking at other opportunities in Europe.

In October, China General Nuclear Corporation and China National Nuclear Corporation agreed to take a joint 30-40 percent stake in an EDF-led consortium to build a 16 billion pound nuclear plant in Britain.

 

[TaiShang]

State Grid to buy 23% stake in Brazil's CPFL
July 5, 2016

State Grid International Development Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of State Grid Corp of China, plans to buy a 23 percent stake in Brazil's largest power distributor, CPFL Energia SA from Brazilian builder Camargo Correa SA for 5.85 billion reais (US$1.8 billion).

State Grid will pay 25 reais for each of Camargo's 234 million CPFL shares, Bloomberg reports.

Other shareholders have the option to outbid State Grid or sell their stakes to the Chinese company on equal terms, which could increase the final size of the deal.

The deal is subject to approval by Brazilian antitrust regulators, the news agency added.

State Grid is expanding its business globally with acquisitions across the world. Currently, it has invested in Italy, the Philippines, Brazil, Portugal and Australia.

The company has said that it plans to expand in Brazil beyond the power transmission assets it already manages. CPFL has a large portfolio of power generation installations besides its power distribution network covering four Brazilian states.

State Grid runs nearly 7,000 kilometers of transmission line in the country, according to Brazil's local media. In addition, another 6,600 kilometers are under construction.

State Grid, which distributes electricity to 1.1 billion people, had a profit of 86.5 billion yuan (US$13.1 billion) on revenue of 2.08 trillion yuan in 2015, its website shows.

 

[Shotgunner51]

The Asia Super Grid – Four Countries Join Together to Maximize Renewable Energy
October 18, 2016 By Junko Movellan, Correspondent

(R) Asia Golden Ring;
Credit: Renewable Energy Institute

(L) Masayoshi Son, chairman, and chief executive officer of Softbank Group, Japan,
Liu Zhenya, former chairman of State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC)
Hwan-Eik Cho, president/CEO of Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO)
Representative from Rosseti, a Russian electric power and grid operator
Signed MOU in Beijing
Image credit: SoftBank Group​

Asia Super Grid​

Read the full article at http://www.renewableenergyworld.com...in-together-to-maximize-renewable-energy.html

 

[Sulman Badshah]

nice

 

[Echo_419]

The Asia Super Grid – Four Countries Join Together to Maximize Renewable Energy
October 18, 2016 By Junko Movellan, Correspondent

View attachment 349202

(R) Asia Golden Ring;
Credit: Renewable Energy Institute

(L) Masayoshi Son, chairman, and chief executive officer of Softbank Group, Japan,
Liu Zhenya, former chairman of State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC)
Hwan-Eik Cho, president/CEO of Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO)
Representative from Rosseti, a Russian electric power and grid operator
Signed MOU in Beijing
Image credit: SoftBank Group​

View attachment 349203

Asia Super Grid​

Read the full article at http://www.renewableenergyworld.com...in-together-to-maximize-renewable-energy.html

More investment by advanced Asian economies is always welcome

 

[Shotgunner51]

More investment by advanced Asian economies is always welcome

If you notice, over the past few years State Grid of China Corp (SGCC) has already been investing heavily overseas, say in South America and a Mediterranean power network, yes, it's good initiative brought up by SGCC, Softbank, KEPCO and Rosseti to do it in Asia.

“We can export to India and Southeast Asia where the power supply is inadequate,” Zhang Qiping, chief engineer of SGCC, said on Tuesday (1 Nov, 2016) at a conference hosted by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) in Shanghai.

“Asia will be an important part in the global energy interconnection,” Wang Min, vice general manager at SGCC, said at the BNEF meeting. The region, he said, “has the biggest potential in energy economic growth and is a region with the most and fast-growing energy demand.”​

“It’s doable in technology,” said Wang, adding current ultra-high voltage lines can transmit as much as 15 gigawatts of power through 5,000 kilometers.

Wang has also proposed an ultra-high-voltage global power network to transmit electricity from country to country and continent to continent, with costs estimated at $50 trillion to develop by 2050.​

SGCC envisions the Asia Super Grid (ASG) will comprise of three key techs:

1. Ultra-high voltage (UHV)
   
2. Smart grid
   
3. Clean energy

China has abundant reserves that lead the world in the above three techs, as well as civil-mechanical engineering expertise, to build this pan-Asian grid, let's see how things progress. For more info, please read:

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/4p...-may-join-list-of-Indias-Chinese-imports.html
https://defence.pk/threads/mediterr...-state-grid-purchases-stake-in-greece.458976/
​

 

[Echo_419]

If you notice, over the past few years State Grid of China Corp (SGCC) has already been investing heavily overseas, say in South America and a Mediterranean power network, yes, it's good initiative brought up by SGCC, Softbank, KEPCO and Rosseti to do it in Asia.

“We can export to India and Southeast Asia where the power supply is inadequate,” Zhang Qiping, chief engineer of SGCC, said on Tuesday (1 Nov, 2016) at a conference hosted by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) in Shanghai.

“Asia will be an important part in the global energy interconnection,” Wang Min, vice general manager at SGCC, said at the BNEF meeting. The region, he said, “has the biggest potential in energy economic growth and is a region with the most and fast-growing energy demand.”​

“It’s doable in technology,” said Wang, adding current ultra-high voltage lines can transmit as much as 15 gigawatts of power through 5,000 kilometers.

Wang has also proposed an ultra-high-voltage global power network to transmit electricity from country to country and continent to continent, with costs estimated at $50 trillion to develop by 2050.​

SGCC envisions the Asia Super Grid (ASG) will comprise of three key techs:

1. Ultra-high voltage (UHV)
   
2. Smart grid
   
3. Clean energy

China has abundant reserves that lead the world in the above three techs, as well as civil-mechanical engineering expertise, to build this pan-Asian grid, let's see how things progress. For more info, please read:

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/4p...-may-join-list-of-Indias-Chinese-imports.html
https://defence.pk/threads/mediterr...-state-grid-purchases-stake-in-greece.458976/
​

Hopefully, you will establish manufacturing facilities in India to sell this equipment in India. Many Chinese cos have already established their manufacturing facilities and hopefully more will follow

For example
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world...ns-in-india/story-LSuBep383M83tujO3GWCZI.html

There is great scope of cooperation between our 2 countries

 

[艹艹艹]

http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2016-12/19/content_27711936.htm
Synching S. America with world
By Zheng Xin | China Daily | Updated: 2016-12-19 07:26

State Grid Corp takes lead by building Brazil hydropower plants with UHV technology

State Grid Corp of China, which runs the majority of the nation's electricity distribution network, has big plans to play a key role in the clean energy industry in South America.

"The company's landing ultra high-voltage electricity transmission projects in Brazil marks a major breakthrough in China's 'going global' strategy in the field of UHV technology," said Li Lequan, deputy director of State Grid International Development Co Ltd, SGCC's subsidiary for global operations.​

"The first phase of the Belo Monte UHV DC Transmission Project, which is expected to start commercial operations by February 2018, will create more than 36,000 local jobs. It'll also use Chinese electrical equipment worth 5 billion yuan ($720 million)."​

UHV technology provides large-scale power delivery over long distances and can reduce energy loss during transmission.

According to Li, the project is the first overseas UHV direct current transmission project operated by a Chinese power enterprise. It is also the first UHV DC project in South America.

A group led by SGCC won the bid to construct the hydropower transmission lines for the Belo Monte project, a hydropower plant in the Amazon region, in February 2014.

So far, major equipment like converter stations has arrived on-site, and 40 percent of the construction of the substation, and 95 percent of land acquisition, have been completed, he said.

In July 2015, the company won the bid for Phase 2 Belo Monte UHV Transmission Project independently and received the concession for 30 years.

The project, which will integrate investment, construction and operation of UHV transmission projects, includes an 800KV UHV DC transmission line with converter stations at both ends.

The construction period will last for 50 months and is expected to start commercial operations by December 2019.

Analysts said China's UHV technology has become key to the company's presence and expansion in Brazil, where distances of thousands of kilometers separate hydroelectric dams and the communities they serve.

Han Xiaoping, an analyst at Beijing-based cnenergy.org, said the technology helps transmit large amount of power over long distances. That is what Brazil needs, given its vast and varied geography.

In hydropower potential, Brazil ranks third in the world after Russia and China. Eighty percent of the energy consumed in the country originates from hydroelectric plants, he said.

"The upcoming UHV line will signify Brazil's, even South America's, first 'electricity superhighway'. Besides, State Grid's UHV technology will gain lead in the global power plant and distribution grid construction market," Han said.​

Insufficient power and its uneven distribution have put new pressures on economic development the world over. Statistics show the price of electricity for home use increased by 50 percent last year, according to Xinhua News Agency.

"China is a country with rich experience in building large-scale power transmission infrastructure, so it has become the first choice for other countries in need," Han said.​

UHV is a world-class Chinese innovation with intellectual property rights. State Grid manages hybrid grids with the world's highest voltage level and on the largest scale, said Li.

"It owns advanced large grid operational control technology and system protection technology and is the world's sole grid type with no major outage."​

SGCC, which was set up in 2010, has so far erected power lines stretching 6,748 kilometers in Brazil, with 6,054 kilometers more under construction.

SGCC's overseas arm also has a presence in the Philippines, Portugal, Australia and Italy. Its overseas investment has reached $9.8 billion; its overseas assets are worth $29.8 billion.

The parent company plans to use its domestic market experience to win more export orders for its technology and equipment.

Last year, it inked framework deals with Russia and Kazakhstan for cross-country electricity transmission lines.

The parent company has invested more than $10 billion overseas so far, with gross value of assets reaching $40 billion, all earning profits, said Lv Shirong, deputy director-general of the Department of International Cooperation, SGCC.

"The company has successfully invested in and operated key backbone energy networks in six countries and regions, including the Philippines, Brazil, Portugal, and Italy.

"Its overseas business has extended from developing countries to emerging economies and developed countries."​

According to Lv, SGCC highly values the key role of standards in international competition, while enhancing China's voice and influence in the power sector worldwide.

"State Grid leads the world in a number of grid technologies. It's the first in the world to establish a complete UHV DC/AC power line and smart grid technology system. It also has a presence in new energy and large grid operation," he said.

"State Grid will work on its international business and major projects centered around the Belt and Road Initiative, and strongly promote China's 'going global' push in technology, equipment, management and power industry standards."​

 

[ahojunk]

Roadmap for global energy interconnection depicted
By Li Ning from People's Daily (People's Daily Online) 08:28, February 24, 2017

The Beijing-headquartered Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO), the first China-initiated international energy organ, released three reports on its research findings on Wednesday, depicting a vision of a green, low-carbon, interconnected and shared energy community around the globe.

In the three documents, namely White Paper on Global Energy Interconnection Development Strategy, Technology and Prospects for Cross-regional Power Networks and Global Energy Interconnection Development and Outlook 2017, the organization shared the strategic system, ideas and roadmap for global energy interconnection.

The idea of building a “Global Energy Interconnection (GEI)” was first put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the UN Sustainable Development Summit on September 26, 2015. Xi's proposal, with an aim to facilitate efforts to meet the global power demand with clean and green energy alternatives, was widely echoed by the international community.

The GEIDCO, founded last March upon China’s initiative, has received its first 80 members from Asia, Europe, Africa, America and Oceania.

The fusion of energy network, together with information network and transportation network, is regarded as a new trend of the world, but the progress of former one lagged behind after the latter two.

According to plans, the GEI foresees a global smart ultra-high-voltage grid connecting power providers and consumers worldwide with clean energy across national boundaries. It is also designed to serve as a basic platform for extensive development, deployment and utilization of clean energy.

In a bid to realize the UN’s goal of “Sustainable Energy for All”, the GEI is expected to be attained by the middle of the century, in three steps of domestic, intracontinental and intercontinental interconnection.

Liu Zhenya, chairman of the GEIDCO, stressed that global energy interconnection will promote a new way for energy production and consumption guided and featured by clean energy and high degree of electrification.

Meanwhile, a new energy development pattern should be formed, Liu suggested, explaining that in the new pattern, the power system will be shared within countries and continents and the global electric power allocation will be optimized.

He also urged the world to establish a new mutually beneficial energy cooperation relationship with joint efforts and shared fruits.

Liu called for an accelerated technology-driven innovative development in GEI progress as well, saying that innovation harvests in sectors like big data, Internet of Things, automatic drive and car networking should be reaped as soon as possible.

********

Good to see China is showing leadership in this area.
China builds, while others bomb.
.

 

[TaiShang]

The GEIDCO, founded last March upon China’s initiative, has received its first 80 members from Asia, Europe, Africa, America and Oceania.

Looks like an energy belt and road is in the making.

On grid connectivity (smart grid and UHV), China needs to prioritize Northeast Asia (including Russia and break-away Mongolia) because the manufacturing core of NEA has capacity to build immense renewable energy structures but, without transportation capacity across borders, the investment makes little sense as it may lead to waste.

Good to see China is showing leadership in this area.
China builds, while others bomb.

That's a pattern we have to live with for a while, I am afraid.

 

[Shotgunner51]

Global grid to be new growth engine
By JING SHUIYU | China Daily | Updated: 2017-05-09 07:54

Vision for future looks to radical interconnectivity of energy sources

By Liu Zhenya
Chairman - State Grid of China Corp (SGCC; World's largest utility multinational)
Chairman - Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Org (GEIDCO)
https://www.un.org/development/desa/statements/mr-wu/2016/03/2016-global-energy.html
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...n-vision-of-a-world-power-grid-300238674.html
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128044056000087
​

Global energy interconnection is a vision to form a massive global electricity grid powered by renewable sources. It will serve as a new engine to cement the Belt and Road Initiative, as economies along the trading routes are rich in clean energy and complement each other, said an expert. Wang Yimin, secretary-general of the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization, said electricity interconnection is conducive to boosting regional economic and trade cooperation.

The non-governmental and non-profit international organization has been striving to boost big-ticket projects connecting the electricity networks of China, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Bangladesh and other countries, he told a news conference.

GEI is a globally interconnected smart grid with ultra-high voltage grids as its backbone. It also serves as an infrastructure platform to develop, transmit and consume clean energy on a massive scale worldwide, according to Wang.

"In essence, GEI is a smart grid, plus a UHV grid and clean energy," he elaborated.​

To facilitate such efforts, GEIDCO is going to sigh cooperation agreements or memorandums of cooperation with several international governments and international organizations to construct the standard system during the upcoming Belt and Road summit, added Wang.

In 2015, China proposed to establish the GEI to help meet global power demand with clean and green alternatives. The initiative was proposed as severe energy challenges, such as resource scarcity, environmental pollution, and climate change, pose a great threat to the survival of humanity.

GEI, as a Chinese solution to address these challenges, should be incorporated into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The China-led organization is planning to put intercontinental grids in place in each continent by 2050, after setting up a countrywide super-grid by 2020.

Among the world's three most significant networks, the integration of energy infrastructure lags far behind information and transportation sectors, said Liu Zhenya, GEIDCO's chairman and former chairman of the Beijing-based State Grid Corp of China.

Liu wrote in a recent article, saying "information and transportation are already well on their way to being integrated, powered by advances in electrification and fiber optics, as well as data analytics, automation and the internet of things ... electricity generation and transmission remain trapped within localized 20th-century grids."​

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2017-05/09/content_29259437.htm

 

[Shotgunner51]

Power giants expand grid projects
By Jing Shuiyu | China Daily | Updated: 2017-06-02 07:55

China's power giants are carving out new business opportunities by building cross-border electricity grids through renewable energy projects.

State Grid Corporation of China has built 10 cross-border transmission lines, connecting China with neighboring countries such as Russia and Mongolia. China Southern Power Grid, another State-owned utility powerhouse, has constructed 12 alternating current lines between Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

"So far, cross-border trade in electricity has exceeded 47.1 billion kilowatt-hours," the company said.​

This is all part of a General Energy Interconnection, or GEI, plan to connect up renewable power projects across national borders.

Based in Beijing, the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization has signed memorandums of cooperation with five international partners.

The non-governmental and non-profit Chinese organization aims to pursue GEI projects as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. It agreed with outline plans with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the League of Arab States, the African Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority.​

"Among the world's most three significant networks, the integration of energy infrastructure lags far behind the information and transportation sectors," Liu Zhenya, GEIDCO chairman and former chairman of SGCC, said in an article he wrote for Bloomberg View.​

The sector has also faced obstacles regarding geographical terrain and issues left over by history. To solve these problems, GEIDCO plans to put intercontinental grids in place in each continent by 2050. Before that, it aims to set up a countrywide super-grids across the world by 2020. With 305 members, the organization operates in 32 countries and regions across five continents. Its long-term goal is to increase clean energy consumption to 80 percent by 2050, reduce carbon emission to 11.5 billion metric tons, and propel investment in GEI to $50 trillion worldwide.

One planned project is the China-South Asia interconnection development. GEIDCO proposed in a white paper to construct two ultra-high-voltage, or UHV, transmission projects. These would transmit electricity generated in China and Kazakhstan to Pakistan, and ease power shortages.

Chi Yongning, chief engineer at new energy department of China Electric Power Research Institute, said safe and stable transcontinental electricity grids require abundant power.

"To ensure systematic safety, it is crucial that the power transmission is on a consistent level," Chi said.​

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2017-06/02/content_29585964.htm

 

[TaiShang]

State Grid Corporation of China has built 10 cross-border transmission lines, connecting China with neighboring countries such as Russia and Mongolia. China Southern Power Grid, another State-owned utility powerhouse, has constructed 12 alternating current lines between Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

That's great. I think GEIDCO has already drafted an action plan, which includes three steps with respect to grid development: National, cross border and regional.

So, unlike the title suggests, before thinking of a global grid, China needs to concentrate on building a viable regional grid.

One planned project is the China-South Asia interconnection development. GEIDCO proposed in a white paper to construct two ultra-high-voltage, or UHV, transmission projects. These would transmit electricity generated in China and Kazakhstan to Pakistan, and ease power shortages.

In this respect, Northeast Asia should not be ignored. In fact, last year, Russians, Korean KEPCO, Japan's SoftBank and China's State Grid signed a MoU on studying a NEA super grid. Especially Russian and Mongolian (existing and potential) electricity from clean energy could be sent down to more developed/industrialized China, Korea and Japan.

This would also be a great step in creating a NEA economic cooperation framework. China should not focus only on CE or SA while ignoring its most immediate (cultural/historical) region.

 

[Shotgunner51]

Mongolia and China envision giant power grids to light up Asia
by Michael Kohn and Stephen Stapczynski Bloomberg Jun 9, 2017

Buildings and streets are illuminated in the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo. The lights of the district's high-end boutiques and bars may someday be powered by coal burned more than 2,700 km away in Mongolia, electricity zipping over ultra-high voltage lines across deserts and under seas.

That’s the idea behind plans in Asia for so-called super grids, sending power from countries with relatively few people but lots of wind, sun and fossil fuels to distant electricity-hungry population centers trying to keep up with demand. Mongolia, desperate to make more of its abundant resources as it seeks to revive its flailing economy, aims to make that vision a reality through one of the world’s most ambitious power projects.

The landlocked nation is considering a $7 billion plan to build coal, wind and solar plants that could send electricity across China, Russia, South Korea and Japan, according to Tamir Batsaikhan, a project director with the Shivee Energy Complex. It’s just one concept of how to connect power markets across Asia, where demand is forecast by BMI Research to grow 3.5 percent annually through 2026.

“At a 30,000-foot level you’d be hard-pressed to argue against it,” said Simon Powell, head of Asian utilities research at UBS Group in Hong Kong. “It’s not technically impossible to build an Asian power grid, but there are difficulties.”

While the region’s biggest economies, led by China, throw their support behind the projects, the challenge of moving electricity from one country to another — from the differences in voltages and price to concerns about relying on neighbors for power — may mean Mongolia’s vision remains just a dream.

A feasibility study on Mongolia’s proposed 5,280-megawatt Shivee project, which is backed by state-run investor Erdenes Mongol and the country’s energy ministry, is expected by the end of this month, Tamir said. State Grid Corp. of China is carrying out the study and talks with potential buyers would only start after its completion, he said.

‘Cannot imagine’

State Grid, world’s biggest power distributors, and Japan’s SoftBank Group, as well as partners in South Korea and Russia, are some of the main drivers behind the latest ideas to develop a power grid spanning Northeast Asia. State Grid’s former chairman, Liu Zhenya, floated an even grander plan almost two years ago for a global network to transmit electricity from continent to continent by 2050 at a cost of $50 trillion.

“The energy demands of the next three decades will be astronomical,” Liu, now chairman of the Beijing-based Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization, wrote in a Bloomberg View column in April. “We will need to power — mainly cleanly — at a scale and for a range of uses we cannot yet fully imagine.”

While Liu has moved on to GEIDCO, where SoftBank’s chief, Masayoshi Son is vice chairman, State Grid continues to promote super grid proposals. The company’s chief engineer, Zhang Qiping, said in November that China can export surplus power to India and Southeast Asia. A global network also dovetails with China’s One Belt, One Road program, President Xi Jinping’s cornerstone trade initiative to connect Europe, Asia and Africa through infrastructure and investment.

Puzzle pieces

“State Grid is definitely trying to think big with global energy interconnection,” said Justin Wu, the Asia head of Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “But in the meantime, we’re likely to see projects that will take this on incrementally, building smaller pieces of the puzzle that will fit into this bigger picture of interconnection.”

State Grid didn’t reply to emails seeking comment, while Korea Electric Power declined comment.

Russia’s Rosseti PJSC is in discussions with partners from China, South Korea and Japan about “establishing bilateral energy ties and developing major Asian energy ring,” said Konstantin Petukhov, deputy director general for development. The company is also in talks with the Mongolian government about building a new power grid, which could be linked internationally, he said.

“SoftBank places importance on renewable energy, and a super grid that extends from Mongolia to Japan fixes the problem of security of supply, as the sun is always shining and the wind is always blowing somewhere,” spokesman Kenichi Yuasa said by email, adding that the company isn’t involved in the Shivee Energy Complex.

Multiple obstacles

Such a network faces multiple obstacles, including the challenge of linking different grids and infrastructure and deciding how the power would be priced, according to analysts at UBS and Wood Mackenzie. Some countries may also worry about becoming too reliant on imported power or technology from China, which has faced resistance in Australia and the U.K. over investments in their electricity infrastructure.

“Countries may become cautious about taking Chinese technology, worrying this could endanger their own power system security or even national security,” said Frank Yu, principal consultant on China and North East Asia power at Wood Mackenzie.

GEIDCO’s chief, Liu, has voiced support for moving electricity from Mongolia and northeast China to Japan and South Korea, according to a January statement sent by the organization in response to a request for comment.

Other potential transmission projects cited by GEIDCO include sending hydropower from China’s Yunnan province and thermal power from the country’s north to Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Bangladesh; hydropower from Tibet to India and Bangladesh; coal, wind and solar power from western China’s Xinjiang region and coal-fired electricity from Kazakhstan to Pakistan.

While these projects help China solidify its relationships with neighbors, as well as other Belt and Road countries, the Shivee project in Mongolia is one way to aid an economy that’s forecast by the World Bank to contract 0.2 percent this year. Constructing Shivee would create 25,000 jobs over five years and may increase GDP by 4% annually during that period, according to an August GEIDCO statement.

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“With abundant resources of cheap energy coal, which is not so much profitable to transport, it makes sense to export the final product, electricity,” said Khashchuluun Chuluundorj, an economist at the National University of Mongolia.


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