Better Transmission Networks for a Smarter Global System

Abstract We need the transmission network to be a backbone that provides support to increasing amounts of renewables, and to endure the long-distance cross-border flows that will be the basis for the future regional markets. For this, it is imperative to use all the means at our disposal, new technologies, as well as smart planning methods. We need better transmission networks for a smarter global system. This chapter presents the main drivers for transmission and the technologies that will be the most relevant for the improvement of transmission grids. Then, it presents a general formulation of the problem that can be adapted to most problem instances. It follows with the key modeling choices for transmission expansion planning, as well as the most relevant solution techniques. It concludes with an illustrative case study that demonstrates how optimization can currently tackle large-scale transmission expansion planning.