{"id":595,"date":"2018-12-11T11:49:27","date_gmt":"2018-12-11T11:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=595"},"modified":"2018-12-11T11:49:27","modified_gmt":"2018-12-11T11:49:27","slug":"governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/","title":{"rendered":"Governments at COP24 should focus on building a global electricity grid \u2013 Prof. Damien Ernst"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Governments at the\u00a0<\/strong>COP24 climate change conference<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in Katowice, Poland, which ends on 14 December, should tackle fossil-fuel reliance by building a global energy grid that connects renewable energy from all around the world – and the best place to start is with a giant wind farm in Greenland, says Professor Damien Ernst, an energy scientist from the University of Li\u00e8ge, Belgium.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

He has recently been awarded France’s\u00a0<\/strong>Blondel Medal<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for outstanding work in the field of science and the electrical industry.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How would a global grid help drive the transition to a clean energy future?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Let\u2019s be honest, all the plans that nations have put forward to decarbonise the economy are not working because if you look at the recent numbers, our CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions have risen\u00a0(by 2.7%)<\/a>\u00a0in 2018. I would suggest at the next COP (UN climate change conference) they move away from their old recipes and focus on building the global electricity grid.<\/p>\n

\u2018Why is it the right way to decarbonise electricity? Because with such an infrastructure renewable energy would be so cheap they would put fossil fuels out of business. Once this infrastructure is built, you would lose money if you still use fossil fuels so the global grid would accelerate the decarbonisation of our economy.\u2019<\/p>\n

How would it make renewable energy so cheap?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Let\u2019s take PV (solar) energy as an example. When you look at the price of electricity between 11am-3pm, prices are very low because it is when PV produces a lot of electricity. In a global grid they (energy producers) could sell the excess to other parts of the world at higher prices. It would really force the building of renewable energy (infrastructure) in many parts of the world because they could access a global market.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n
\n

‘With such an infrastructure renewable energy would be so cheap they would put fossil fuels out of business.’<\/p>\n

Professor Damien Ernst, University of Li\u00e8ge, Belgium<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

How would such a huge project be funded?<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018Politicians have already spent billions and billions of euros to fund renewable energy and only with a small fraction of this cost they could build a global grid and stop funding renewable energy. That\u2019s because they (renewables) wouldn\u2019t need support anymore, they would be the cheapest source of producing energy, not only electricity, but energy. They (politicians) should focus all the subsidies on the building of such a global grid.<\/p>\n

\u2018There are certainly many regulatory issues to address to favour the investment of the building of such a grid. But first (politicians) need to realise it is possible, it is the right thing to do and then start thinking about the right legislation that they need to put in place for favouring investment in this grid.<\/p>\n

Where would we start?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Connecting Europe to Greenland would be the first leg of a global grid, especially as the link that would connect Europe with the US. You could connect Greenland to North America and then you would have the first connection between North America and Europe. These interconnections would allow to naturally smooth the fluctuation of renewable energy, especially PV. In Europe, we produce a lot of PV energy using solar panels and the power consumption in the US starts picking up at 6am on the east coast. When they need power it would be fed through the solar energy harvested (at peak production times) in Europe.\u2019<\/p>\n

Europe and USA are quite far away from Greenland, how can we transfer energy over such a long distance?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018You could build undersea cables. For Europe, (it could be) between the east of Greenland to France or Belgium, or only parts of undersea cables and then go through Iceland, Ireland, then the UK and then cross the channel to reach the mainland. There are several ways of connecting these areas.<\/p>\n

\u2018Building undersea cables is no problem at all. That is a technology that companies have mastered pretty well. They will be a bit longer than usual, but we have already built undersea cables over 500 kilometres long so going to 3-4,000 kilometres is not a huge issue.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n
\"Prof.
Prof. Damien Ernst says current emissions-cutting activities are not working and it’s time to consider new strategies. Image credit – University of Li\u00e8ge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

You\u2019ve also suggested that the grid should be complemented by a giant wind farm in Greenland. Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018First, it has much better wind resources (than Europe). There you can get a load factor for the wind farm which approximates 70% (of average wind availability). In the North Sea it might be more 45%, and onshore in Europe it is around 25%. The load factor is great.<\/p>\n

\u2018Second, there is decorrelation between the wind patterns between Greenland and Europe. The biggest problem of wind energy in Europe is that when you don\u2019t get it in one place in Europe, it is quite likely there is very little wind in another place. There is a correlation of the wind patterns, this means you would have to invest into huge storage devices or gas fire power plants to deal with the correlations of wind patterns. If you connect Europe with Greenland, the chance of getting no wind in Greenland is very, very low and almost impossible.\u2019<\/p>\n

What would this giant wind farm look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018They would have very big turbines, more than 15 megawatts \u2013 the biggest you can build. You could have thousands and thousands, it would really be gigantic wind farms. No one is living on the east coast of Greenland because it is too windy so you wouldn\u2019t have the not-in-my-backyard issue. You could put them close to those coast or onshore, there are many opportunities in installing these giant windfarms (in Greenland) which you do not get in Europe.\u2019<\/p>\n

You were a researcher for the GARPUR project which aimed to help make power systems more resilient. How will this help the global grid?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Power systems are operated according to the so-called N-1 security doctrine. What does it mean? It means power systems should still be able to work properly when you lose (an) element \u2013 one (power) line, one transformer, one power plant. This doctrine is too costly and conservative to maintain so (GARPUR) tried to come up with new strategies for operating a (more resilient) power system.<\/p>\n

\u2018For operating a global grid safely, you need to come up with the right security doctrine and there is a connection there. GARPUR was focusing on a very big transmission system and the global grid would be the biggest one ever built so you need to have the right security doctrine.\u2019<\/p>\n

What would you like to happen next to get the global grid get off the ground?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018I would like to have a plenary session (at the next COP) focusing on the building of the global grid \u2013 the main advantages, what politicians and people over the world should do to force its development, gathering subsidies \u2013 I would like this to become one of the main priorities.<\/p>\n

\u2018It is time to start thinking about a totally new strategy (for decarbonisation) or we end up driving into the wall at full speed.\u2019<\/p>\n

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The GARPUR project was funded by the European Union. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.<\/em><\/p>\n

Originally on Horizon<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Governments at the\u00a0COP24 climate change conference\u00a0in Katowice, Poland, which ends on 14 December, should tackle fossil-fuel reliance by building a global energy grid that connects renewable energy from all around the world – and the best place to start is with a giant wind farm in Greenland, says Professor Damien Ernst, an energy scientist from … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":314,"featured_media":596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[40,4,79,24,78],"class_list":["post-595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-energy-environment","tag-energy","tag-environment","tag-research","tag-science","tag-sustainability"],"yoast_head":"\nGovernments at COP24 should focus on building a global electricity grid \u2013 Prof. Damien Ernst - Horizon Magazine Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Governments at COP24 should focus on building a global electricity grid \u2013 Prof. Damien Ernst\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Governments at the\u00a0COP24 climate change conference\u00a0in Katowice, Poland, which ends on 14 December, should tackle fossil-fuel reliance by building a global energy grid that connects renewable energy from all around the world – and the best place to start is with a giant wind farm in Greenland, says Professor Damien Ernst, an energy scientist from ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Horizon Magazine Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-11T11:49:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/12\/Renewable_Energy_on_the_Grid.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"886\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"621\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Gillman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Gillman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/595\\\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/595\\\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Steve Gillman\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/59969453af64830acccf7166e70f9d0e\"},\"headline\":\"Governments at COP24 should focus on building a global electricity grid \u2013 Prof. Damien Ernst\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-11T11:49:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/595\\\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1241,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/595\\\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/Renewable_Energy_on_the_Grid.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"energy\",\"environment\",\"research\",\"science\",\"sustainability\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Earth, Energy & Environment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2018\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/595\\\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/595\\\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\\\/\",\"name\":\"Governments at COP24 should focus on building a global electricity grid \u2013 Prof. Damien Ernst - Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/595\\\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/595\\\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/Renewable_Energy_on_the_Grid.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-11T11:49:27+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/595\\\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/595\\\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/595\\\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/Renewable_Energy_on_the_Grid.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/Renewable_Energy_on_the_Grid.jpg\",\"width\":886,\"height\":621,\"caption\":\"Prof. Damien Ernst believes a global energy grid would put fossil fuels out of business. Image credit - Kenueone, licensed under CC0 1.0\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/595\\\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Governments at COP24 should focus on building a global electricity grid \u2013 Prof. Damien Ernst\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"description\":\"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"width\":601,\"height\":283,\"caption\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/59969453af64830acccf7166e70f9d0e\",\"name\":\"Steve Gillman\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7f7efaf6b926a733f2d674a57741bed0d66a6d50a120d4c7154d974b58e1ef0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7f7efaf6b926a733f2d674a57741bed0d66a6d50a120d4c7154d974b58e1ef0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7f7efaf6b926a733f2d674a57741bed0d66a6d50a120d4c7154d974b58e1ef0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Steve Gillman\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/author\\\/stevegillman\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Governments at COP24 should focus on building a global electricity grid \u2013 Prof. Damien Ernst - Horizon Magazine Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Governments at COP24 should focus on building a global electricity grid \u2013 Prof. Damien Ernst","og_description":"Governments at the\u00a0COP24 climate change conference\u00a0in Katowice, Poland, which ends on 14 December, should tackle fossil-fuel reliance by building a global energy grid that connects renewable energy from all around the world – and the best place to start is with a giant wind farm in Greenland, says Professor Damien Ernst, an energy scientist from ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/","og_site_name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","article_published_time":"2018-12-11T11:49:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":886,"height":621,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/12\/Renewable_Energy_on_the_Grid.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Steve Gillman","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Steve Gillman","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/"},"author":{"name":"Steve Gillman","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/59969453af64830acccf7166e70f9d0e"},"headline":"Governments at COP24 should focus on building a global electricity grid \u2013 Prof. Damien Ernst","datePublished":"2018-12-11T11:49:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/"},"wordCount":1241,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/12\/Renewable_Energy_on_the_Grid.jpg","keywords":["energy","environment","research","science","sustainability"],"articleSection":["Earth, Energy & Environment"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2018","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/","name":"Governments at COP24 should focus on building a global electricity grid \u2013 Prof. Damien Ernst - Horizon Magazine Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/12\/Renewable_Energy_on_the_Grid.jpg","datePublished":"2018-12-11T11:49:27+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/12\/Renewable_Energy_on_the_Grid.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/12\/Renewable_Energy_on_the_Grid.jpg","width":886,"height":621,"caption":"Prof. Damien Ernst believes a global energy grid would put fossil fuels out of business. Image credit - Kenueone, licensed under CC0 1.0"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/595\/governments-at-cop24-should-focus-on-building-a-global-electricity-grid-prof-damien-ernst\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Governments at COP24 should focus on building a global electricity grid \u2013 Prof. Damien Ernst"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","description":"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","width":601,"height":283,"caption":"Horizon Magazine Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/59969453af64830acccf7166e70f9d0e","name":"Steve Gillman","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7f7efaf6b926a733f2d674a57741bed0d66a6d50a120d4c7154d974b58e1ef0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7f7efaf6b926a733f2d674a57741bed0d66a6d50a120d4c7154d974b58e1ef0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7f7efaf6b926a733f2d674a57741bed0d66a6d50a120d4c7154d974b58e1ef0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Steve Gillman"},"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/author\/stevegillman\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/12\/Renewable_Energy_on_the_Grid.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgtNKV-9B","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":292,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/292\/solar-impulse-efficient-solution-label-for-profitable-start-ups-to-boost-clean-energy-investment\/","url_meta":{"origin":595,"position":0},"title":"Solar Impulse ‘Efficient Solution’ label for profitable start-ups to boost clean energy investment","author":"Catherine Collins","date":"May 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The pioneering solar flight foundation Solar Impulse has launched an \u2018Efficient Solution\u2019 label for clean energy start-ups and innovations that can demonstrate their profitability, in a bid to boost investment in the sector. It was one of a number of initiatives launched at the Mission Innovation clean energy conference in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Investors respond better to the profit potential of green innovations such as solar-powered planes rather than their eco-credentials, according to Dr Bertrand Piccard, founder of Solar Impulse.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/05\/Solar_Impulse_SI2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/05\/Solar_Impulse_SI2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/05\/Solar_Impulse_SI2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/05\/Solar_Impulse_SI2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/05\/Solar_Impulse_SI2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/05\/Solar_Impulse_SI2.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":229,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/229\/buzz-feed-bringing-renewables-to-the-power-grid\/","url_meta":{"origin":595,"position":1},"title":"Buzz feed – bringing renewables to the power grid","author":"Sandrine Ceurstemont","date":"April 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Renewable energy is on the rise in Europe as the economy develops away from the use of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, but an ageing electricity grid is struggling to keep up with the rapid pace of developments. Originally designed to obtain and distribute energy from a few\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"As the ways we obtain energy change power grids need to evolve to keep up with the new demands.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/04\/power-lines.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/04\/power-lines.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/04\/power-lines.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/04\/power-lines.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/04\/power-lines.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/04\/power-lines.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":815,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/815\/young-scientists-share-protesters-sense-of-urgency-on-climate\/","url_meta":{"origin":595,"position":2},"title":"\u2018Young scientists share protesters\u2019 sense of urgency on climate\u2019","author":"Aisling Irwin","date":"May 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Young scientists have the ambition, disruptive thinking and sense of urgency to drive clean energy forward at the radical pace that is needed, says Luciana Miu, a PhD student in chemical engineering who is focusing on energy efficiency at Imperial College London, UK.\u00a0 She is vice chair of the 2019\u00a0International\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young scientists are blurring the boundaries between advocacy and research, according to Luciana Miu, vice chair of the 2019 International Student Energy Summit.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/05\/46382680934_30136a42cb_k.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/05\/46382680934_30136a42cb_k.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/05\/46382680934_30136a42cb_k.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/05\/46382680934_30136a42cb_k.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":507,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/507\/bill-gates-and-european-commission-launch-e100-million-clean-energy-fund\/","url_meta":{"origin":595,"position":3},"title":"Bill Gates and European Commission launch \u20ac100 million clean energy fund","author":"Joanna Roberts","date":"October 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Bill Gates and the European Commission have launched a\u00a0\u20ac100 million investment fund designed to bring radical clean energy technologies more quickly to market in order to promote energy\u00a0efficiency and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Speaking at the launch in Brussels, Belgium, on 17 October, Gates said that science and innovation hold\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bill Gates and Commissoner Carlos Moedas committed to establish a fund to get radical new clean energy technologies to market.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/Bill-Gates-hand-shake_crop.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/Bill-Gates-hand-shake_crop.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/Bill-Gates-hand-shake_crop.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/Bill-Gates-hand-shake_crop.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/Bill-Gates-hand-shake_crop.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/Bill-Gates-hand-shake_crop.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2150,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2150\/european-cities-team-up-to-expand-clean-energy-cut-fossil-fuels\/","url_meta":{"origin":595,"position":4},"title":"European cities team up to expand clean energy, cut fossil fuels","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"September 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"European cities have joined forces to find quicker ways of promoting clean energy and curbing fossil fuels, advancing climate goals made more urgent by Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine. BY ALEX WHITING Cities are central to the battle against global warming \u2013 they consume two-thirds of global energy and account for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/8-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/8-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/8-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/8-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/8-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/8-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":894,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/894\/shoppers-cant-afford-energy-efficient-cars-homes-researchers\/","url_meta":{"origin":595,"position":5},"title":"Shoppers \u2018can\u2019t afford\u2019 energy efficient cars, homes – researchers","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"July 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by: Alex Whiting Europeans can slash their fuel bills and have a significant impact on curbing global greenhouse gas emissions by buying more energy efficient cars, homes or even fridges \u2013 but many do not because of higher initial cost of green products, mistrust in EU energy ratings, and lack\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Switching to more efficient appliances can save people money over time, although they are often more expensive to buy. Image credit - Photo Mix","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/07\/modern-kitchen-1772638_1920.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/07\/modern-kitchen-1772638_1920.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/07\/modern-kitchen-1772638_1920.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/07\/modern-kitchen-1772638_1920.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/07\/modern-kitchen-1772638_1920.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/07\/modern-kitchen-1772638_1920.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/314"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}