Decarbonising via internet

THE INTERNET of energy could be the key to decarbonising the world’s economy, boosting electricity use efficiency and delivering power to the billions of people worldwide with little or no access to electricity, according to Italy’s energy expert Corrado Clini. Clini, a former environment minister of Italy, made the remarks in an article entitled “The internet of energy”, which was published in the December 2017 issue of Le Scienze, or the Italian edition of the Scientific American. In the article, Clini hailed the Global Energy Interconnection, a project which is proposed by State Grid Corporation of China and aims to build a global power grid interconnection by 2050 that will optimise power from renewables and transmit renewable electricity in real time between any two given points on the map, regardless of the source plant’s location. Electricity from renewables could be transmitted in real-time between distant points on the planet in a worldwide network of power plants and power lines, he said, adding, “Italy could also benefit from a similar network.”