WEMO 2025 (complet) - Flipbook - Page 27
W E M O 202 5
O U T LO O K
However, grid balancing, which is the process of matching
electricity supply with demand in real time, is becoming
increasingly di昀케cult to achieve.
Moreover, demand is also variable, driven by daily and seasonal
usage patterns, which adds further balancing complexity.
Grid building and strengthening challenges
• By 2040, the equivalent of the existing global
grid needs to be built or refurbished. This will
address multiple needs: rising electricity demand187,
grid congestion188 , integration of renewable energy
farms, and the rapid growth of data centers.189,190
Below we will elaborate on challenges related to grid
extensions and grid balancing, notably with high renewables
penetration. We will then suggest technical (including AI),
regulatory, political and social solutions.
Fully reaching national energy transition plans on time
means adding or refurbishing a total of over 80 million
kilometres of grids by 2040, the equivalent of the entire
existing global grid.191 Substantial investments are needed
in developing Asian countries where the electricity
losses on the grids are much higher than for advanced
economies due to overloaded lines and undersized
transformers, which in turn result from inadequate planning,
unplanned expansion, and poor maintenance practices.192
Indeed, many phenomena must be considered, particularly:
√ Due to the dimension of grids as compared to the wavelength
at 50 or 60 Hz, propagation laws apply and the system is no
longer stationary,
√ When supply is larger than demand there is an increase in
voltage,
By 2030, investment needs should reachmore than $500bn
per year compared to less than $400bn in 2024193, with
emphasis on digitalizing194 and modernizing distribution grids.195
√ On the other hand, when demand becomes larger than
production, there is a decrease of voltage,
https://www.iea.org/reports/electricity-grids-and-secure-energy-transitions/
executive-summary
192
https://www.adb.org/sites/default/昀椀les/publication/1050701/energy-transition-readinessdeveloping-asia-paci昀椀c.pdf
193
https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/signi昀椀cant-investment-needed-to-ready-theglobal-power-grid-for-net-zero-bloombergnef-report/
194
investing in digital technologies increased from about 12% of total grid investment in 2016 to
about 20% in 2022.
195
https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/ea2昀昀609-8180-4312-8de9-494bcf21696d/
ElectricityGridsandSecureEnergyTransitions.pdf
191
187
Electricity demand is projected to rise 4% annually through 2030: https://www.iea.org/reports/
electricity-2024
188
Congestions occurs when existing lines cannot manage peak loads or renewable energy 昀氀ows,
leading to curtailment or high costs, such as the $20.8 billion in U.S. congestion costs in 2022
189
A single hyperscale facility can need a capacity of 1 GW
190
https://datacentremagazine.com/critical-environments/
power-hungry-data-centres-put-pressure-on-irelands-grid
WEMO 2025
Grids are the backbone of the energy transition because they
connect diverse electricity sources like power plants and
renewable generation to consumers, ensuring reliable power
transmission, distribution and supply.
√ All the energy which is introduced in the grid at di昀昀erent
positions must have the correct phase to avoid oscillations
due to interferences.
26
Will the electrical grids be able to
adapt to the energy transition
challenges?
