When I told you about the all-ambitious Saharan Solar Power Project a couple of days ago, I slithered on one aspect, i.e. transmission. However, it’s not so with CIRCE, as it thinks beyond power production and has plans to transmit this electricity to a wider area via an extensive grid labeled the SuperSmart Grid. The EUR 10-million project, funded by the EU’s Sixth Framework Program (FP6), will go on to ensure decentralization of energy across Europe and bring down the cavernous level of greenhouse gas emissions. The project will also assess the impact of climate change on the Mediterranean.
What is SuperSmart Grid?
The SuperSmart Grid combines a Super Grid and a Smart Grid. Where the Super Grid focuses on transmission aspect, the latter is more concerned with decentralization of power. Hence, the SuperSmart Grid will seek to link various small installations and ultimately, will make its effective transmission certain. Thus, it would help tackle energy fluctuations in an efficient manner. Since Europe targets 20% of its energy to come via renewable sources, it’s mandatory to have this sort of robust mechanism for transmission of electricity from far-flung areas. Obviously, the grid will transmit high-voltage direct current (HVDC), for it involves minimal losses. It also means that the customers will get cheaper energy.