Global Link of renewable energy sources : Technical, economical, and environmental aspects of an intercontinental electricity transmission and distribution system

The present energy system mainly depends on worldwide transport of fossil primary energy carriers. One way to reduce fossil fuel consumption would be to substitute the worldwide transport of fossil primary energy carriers by transportable secondary energy carriers converted from renewable energy sources. This could also reduce global and local environmental effects resulting from the use of fossil fuels as energy. By means of a Global Link, regions with large supplies of renewable energy could be connected to regions where the energy demand is relatively high. In this context, it is the objective of this article to, first, give a general overview of the different possibilities. Then possible compensation and equalization effects of an intercontinental electricity transmission and distribution system are analyzed; environmental and economic aspects are also discussed. Some conclusions are drawn in the final section.