Publié le 01/10/2009
Susanne NIES

Electricity interconnections is a prominent issue in the news, sometimes even featured as a panacea for the shortcomings of the European electricity market - a panacea that would ensure energy supply and security and pave the way for a promising use of renewables in the future.

he present report is devoted to electricity interconnections in Europe, their current state and the projects concerning them.

In line with Ifri's focus on international relations and geopolitics, the author concentrates on the geopolitics and governance of interconnections.

The study addresses the following questions:

  • What is the role of interconnection in the development of a sustainable grid that can build on existing pieces, make optimum use of existing generation capacity, enhance energy security, and offer economies of scales ? What is their role in the process of building a different energy concept, one that would be concerned with climate change and thus in favour of the use of renewables ?
  • How are existing interconnections exploited and governed, and how can their exploitation be improved? Does the EU need more and new interconnections; and if so, wher and why, and who is going to finance them ?

Prominent projects as such as Desertec, the debate on DC or AC lines, or the limits of synchronisation, as weel as the state of a potential East-West electricity linkage between Former Soviet Union and EU, termed UCTE-UPS/IPS, are discussed in the volume. The Study finishes with reconmmendations for policy makers