“In the eastern hemisphere, Australia could be Asia's 'North Africa,' generating clean solar energy for export,” explains Desertec Asia in a recent press release, while “the ocean between Japan/South Korea, China and Taiwan could be Asia's 'North Sea,' generating wind powered electricity for the energy-hungry economies of North Asia”.
According to Desertec Asia, the Desertec project ($560 billion) and the North Sea Grid Initiative ($42 billion) would serve roughly 500 million people through a 4,500-kilometer electricity network costing roughly $600 billion, while a Pan Asian Energy Infrastructure would serve nearly two billion people over an 8,000-kilometer electricity network costing, very roughly, US$2 trillion.
Therefore a Pan Asian Energy Infrastructure would cost three times the Desertec /North Sea Initiative to build a system twice as long, but would serve four times the people. “Among other things, it would create huge efficiencies through increased cross-border electricity trading, better investment signals, reduced 'spinning capacity' needs and enhanced regional energy security;” explains Desertec Asia.
First steps already underway
Desertec Asia highlights that the first seeds of a Pan Asian Energy Infrastructure have already been planted. Australia is building out solar, geothermal and wind projects, Indonesia and the Philippines are developing wind and geothermal projects, hydro projects are planned for Burma and Malaysia, and China is building out a wind industry.
All this is creating an automatic 'call option' on deeper cross-border integration of national networks as the global low-emission technology revolution picks up speed.
The Asian Development Bank suggested creating the initial building blocks for this large-scale vision in its recent study "Infrastructure For a Seamless Asia." The Asia-Pacific Energy Research Centre did the same in "Electric Power Grid Interconnections in the APEC Region."
Both studies argued that Asia needed better interconnection of electricity networks. Both concluded increased regional cross-border energy trade would generate sizable positive net present values.
“As Asia assumes primacy as a global economic force, the region should incorporate the best ideas from other regions. Europe's visionary ideas of increased cross-border energy markets enabled by region-spanning infrastructure focused on low-emission energy sources is a positive model to follow,” concludes Taggart's Desertec Asia.
Editor's note: This article has been amended. In the original article, we mistakenly reported that the information had been disseminated by the Desertec Industrial Initiative. This was incorrect. The information was actually released by Desertec Asia, which is part of an unofficial Desertec fan network. We apologise to the official Desertec Foundation for this error.
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