Scientists agree that the world must rapidly transform the global energy system, ditching fossil fuels in favour of cleaner sources of power such as wind and solar in order to limit global warming and avoid the catastrophic effects of climate change.
However this switch can only happen if renewable projects can connect to electricity grids, which are state owned in some countries but privatized in others.
Matthias Taft, chief executive of BayWa RE, which has operations in more than 30 countries, says delays in grid connection are now the “major obstacle” to the rollout of the renewable projects not just in Europe, but in the US and Australia among other countries.
“We are facing a very real situation where we have to wait five, 10 years [for grid connection]. We have a permit [to build projects], but the physical grid connection is not available,” says Taft.
It “really is a threat” to the energy transition, he says.
To uphold the 1.5C target of the Paris agreement, the renewable power generated must more than triple from 3,000GW to more than 10,000GW in 2030, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency, or Irena.
The green transition will require an overhaul of the current system. Several solar and wind farms are often needed to replace a large power plant, partly due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy. These farms all need grid connections, yet they are typically in remote areas off costs, where grids are patchier.
“The grid is in the wrong place to deliver the power from renewable energy to economic centers,” says Peter Crossley at Exeter university.
In the UK, Spain and Italy more than 150GW of solar and wind projects are stuck in grid connection queues in each country, according to BloombergNEF.
Despite countries setting legal targets to cut emissions and increase renewable energy generation, politicians and operators have been slow to spend money to upgrade grids.
https://www.ft.com/content/a3be0c1a-15df-4970-810a-8b958608ca0f