Countering Dunkelflauten: Climate Neutrality Foundation proposes transatlantic cable between South America and Europe
© Stiftung Klimaneutralität
The German Climate Neutrality Foundation (Stiftung Klimaneutralität, SKN) has proposed the construction of an intercontinental power cable between Europe and South America to compensate for seasonal fluctuations in solar power production. This would also facilitate electricity trading across three to four time zones, which would be advantageous. Electricity costs in the connected countries would fall, and periods of low production would be largely avoided. Rainer Baake, director of the Climate Neutrality Foundation, and Wolf Grossmann from the Wegner Centre at the University of Graz, have now published a proposal to this effect. The submarine cable would connect Germany, Belgium and Portugal with Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina.
Researchers at the Wegener Centre have calculated the costs of the proposal. The study determines the costs of controllable power provided by a combination of photovoltaics and electricity storage systems. Despite power losses, the proposal would be highly attractive from an economic perspective, with a total length of around 8,000 km (5,800 km of which would be between the continents) and estimated transmission costs of €27-36/MWh today and €8-17/MWh in the future, according to the Climate Neutrality Foundation’s assessment. Such a system could deliver controllable power at a cost of €68–77/MWh. The calculations show that connecting the hemispheres elegantly solves the problem of seasonal fluctuations, says Baake. When it is winter in Europe and solar yields are low, South America can help out with summer surpluses – and vice versa. The additional time difference of 3–4 hours also optimises daily peak loads.
The study assumes that, if the participating countries demonstrate the necessary political will, the cable could be operational by the second half of the 2030s. The proposed intercontinental cable is not an alternative to the urgently needed backup capacities for 2030, Baake clarifies. But for the second half of the 2030s and 2040s, when additional backup capacities will be required, our proposal offers a convincing economic and political solution. Even under conservative assumptions, solar power combined with storage from interhemispheric coupling will be at least five times cheaper than gas-fired power plants powered by climate-neutral hydrogen. It is important that all the involved countries are democracies with market-based economies – this fosters trust and ensures a secure supply.
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