WEMO 2025 (complet) - Flipbook - Page 28
W E M O 202 5
O U T LO O K
However, building new transmission lines brings technical,
economic, and regulatory hurdles.197 These barriers vary
from one region to the other. Access to finance and
high capital costs hinder progress in many emerging and
developing economies. In Europe, the U.S. and Japan, public
opposition to new projects poses the greatest obstacle198.
FIGURE 9
Power grid investments by region* Billion USD, nominal196
600
Russia
Australia
Middle East
Africa
500
Total :$3.1 trillion
2024
2030
South America
For instance, the Cardinal-Hickory Creek 345 kV line
in the US199 , planned to reduce congestion in
the Midwest, faced over five years delays due to
lawsuits from landowners and environmental groups
worried about farmland and wildlife impacts.
Europe
North America
400
Asia
300
100
These factors can extend timelines to 7–15 years, as seen in
Spain’s stalled Galicia-Aragon interconnector,201 opposed by
rural communities. This has pushed the completion of the
project from 2030 to 2035.
0
15
20
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20
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20
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20
19
20
20
20
21
20
22
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20
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20
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20
27
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28
20
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30
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https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/signi昀椀cant-investment-needed-to-ready-theglobal-power-grid-for-net-zero-bloombergnef-report/
199
https://www.cardinal-hickorycreek.com/
joint-news-release-cardinal-hickory-creek-transmission-line-energized/
200
https://www.enerdata.net/publications/daily-energy-news/germany-starts-construction-700km-suedlink-transmission-line.html
201
https://montelnews.com/news/17057854-463d-492c-9b88-50b02292f133/
commissioning-of-spain-france-interconnectors-put-back-to-2035
198
196
Rystad Energy, Enable or inhibit: Power grids, key to the energy transition, require $3.1 trillion
in investments by 2030, https://www.rystadenergy.com/news/power-grids-investments-energytransition-permitting-policies
197
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/21/why-its-so-hard-to-build-new-electrical-transmission-linesin-the-us.html
27
200
WEMO 2025
• The Südlink transmission project, designed to transport
wind power from Northern to Southern Germany, was started
in 2014 but required revisions to use underground cables
instead of overhead lines to secure public approval. This
change tripled costs and delayed completion from 2022 to
2028, signi昀椀cantly impacting the project timeline200 and cost.
