There is a lot of discussion in the public space about the current electricity transmission network – what is its capacity, is it enough for us and to what extent should it be expanded.
In the development of the network, we focus on improving the existing infrastructure and creating new interstate connections, but if we analyze and forecast development trends in the wider region, this approach is too local. Currently, each country is creating its own vision and there is no consensus even between the involved ministries and the transmission operator in Latvia. In the Baltic Energy Market Integration Plan (BEMIP), when preparing the technical scenario for electricity grid synchronization, Latvia included the goal of obtaining 0.4 GW from offshore wind by 2030, but the industry and investors predict that the capacities will be much higher. So the industry has not been taken into account and a much stronger transmission network will be needed. If we already understand that the transmission network will be improved, of course, economically justified and thoughtfully, why not do it right away with a more ambitious view of the future? We should support the creation of a Baltic supergrid, taking the North Sea as an example, where nine countries in the region have joined together in the North Seas Energy Cooperation with the aim of coordinating offshore wind energy plans, legislative initiatives and creating a single network connecting offshore wind farms with energy islands and land.
The idea of a Baltic electricity transmission super-grid has been relevant for a couple of years – the transmission system operators (TSOs) of the Baltic Sea countries concluded a cooperation memorandum at the end of 2020 on promoting the development of offshore wind farms. The name of the initiative is the Baltic Offshore Grid, or super grid. In a sense, this idea is an alternative to the hitherto classical approach of connecting two countries. The supergrid would consist of offshore wind farms, high-voltage AC and DC cables, offshore high-voltage substations, hydrogen electrolyzers and land lines installed in the Baltic Sea and connected to countries in the region. An important section of the supergrid is energy storage or energy islands – connection points in the network, where electricity conversion and storage solutions are developed, which serve as an essential network balancing and security mechanism. We may miss all of this without developing a full-fledged network.
The beneficiaries of the Supernet will be everyone connected to it. The total wind potential of the Baltic Sea coast is more than 90 GW, in the case of Latvia – 15 GW, which would produce 10 times more electricity per year than Latvia currently consumes. The creation of a super grid and its connection with an even wider European network is actually a critical necessity for Latvia, in order to fully utilize the previously mentioned potential and to export the produced electricity to areas where its demand is always high, such as Poland and Germany. Also, let’s not forget about the goal of the region to get out of the zone of Russian energy influence. Desynchronization, which is currently being worked on by TSOs of the Baltic States and Poland, is only the first step towards it, and the creation of a supergrid would help to achieve this goal of energy independence.
We have just experienced a sharp rise in electricity prices, which made us rethink the planned development path of the energy industry, but now it looks like we have come out of the crisis and are borrowing little for the future. Yes, the capacity of the Latvian electricity transmission network is sufficient for self-consumption, but this should not hinder development. Local electricity consumption will always be lower than what we can produce, realizing Latvia’s renewable energy use potential. Latvia’s biggest benefit from the super grid would be the opportunity to become an electricity exporting country – this would open up the possibilities of a wider market. And consumers and society as a whole would also benefit, as a wider network increases competition, which in turn lowers electricity prices. In addition, renewable electricity production projects are important for investors to have somewhere to transfer the produced electricity, so the creation of a super grid would improve investment attraction in the region.
The production of electricity from renewable resources throughout Europe is developing and will continue to develop – it is inevitable. Electricity systems as a whole are also changing – they remain more decentralized and multi-layered, the principles of network construction and reconstruction are developing and changing. Taking into account the specifics of renewable resources – variability, along with the development of the network, the electricity balancing market will inevitably develop as well. At the intersections of the transmission network connections, very different technological solutions for electricity storage and balancing, infrastructure and, consequently, the services offered by the participating operators to the participants of the balancing market can develop, which can also be very different. The more developed the network, the wider the opportunities to develop balancing solutions. It can be called a by-product of the super network, and the development of the balancing market also provides an opportunity for Latvia to get involved in it and develop a new service niche.
In order for the idea of a super network to be implemented in practice, it is first necessary to create and strengthen the common awareness of all the most important parties involved in Latvia that the creation of such a network and participation in it is necessary. We can be an important part of the Baltic supergrid, and this is an inevitable step to fully exploit our renewable energy production potential. Latvia should be involved as active promoters and participants of the process, not settling for the “we have enough with these capacities” position, which, in theory, is not bad, but if we evaluate the opportunity cost, then the losses can be very high. Every 8-10 years we experience a crisis in energy. By not fully utilizing the potential of renewable energy and everything related to it, we are giving up the role of the region’s leading player in the European electricity market and the opportunity to prepare for future crises by creating electricity security solutions.
