Some previous stories and basic statistics:
We do not have data on the cost of building an EHDC grid, since Europe has not officially started to build an UHVDC grid. At present, China, as a country with relatively low project cost in the world, can be calculated with the price of UHVDC power grid built in China as the bottom line. What we do know is that the price tag for the full Jiuquan-Hunan UHVDC line is $3.9bn (26bn yuan, 3.3bn euros, 2.8bn pounds). The line is 2,383 kilometers long and includes two very large transfer stations. Since our knowledge of the price is very limited, and the price of the line varies with the construction area, we will calculate it all on the basis of the price per kilometer or per mile of the only line, including the necessary substation system. When the number of substations required is too large (greater than one per 500km), a 10% premium will be imposed on the overall project. This is just the minimum price required for the project. The more expensive labor cost in Europe may lead to the further increase of the project cost. We will not make too much estimate here. The following is the price estimate:
1.39 million euros/km 1.18 million pounds/km
2.23 million euros/miles 1.89 million pounds/miles
Route distance:
Since our map is not marked on a standard projection map, we will mainly estimate the walking distance of Google Map (generally the closest distance, which is closer to the real link distance than the straight distance). Existing networks will also be treated as an UHVDC grid and will not be counted in the size of large conversion stations. Only passing cities or large swaths of south-eastern Europe can calculate the number of substations needed on the national grid.
Route 1: The estimated length of the first grid is about 7100km, directly passing through 28 cities. In the southeast, two large conversion stations will be built overall, while in the rest of the region, the conversion stations will be city-centric, and one will be shared by neighboring cities/islands. The total number of conversion stations required is 14, which does not exceed the premium range of one conversion station per 500km, so direct calculation is carried out: ~99 billion euros in total. Since none of the areas are heavily traversed by mountains or newly built undersea tunnels, no additional price approval is required. About 20 countries are directly involved, and a total of about 30 countries can be helped, with a coverage rate of about 70%.
Route 2: The new line will be about 13000km long and directly pass through 57 cities. According to the principle of building three large transformer systems in southeast Europe, where the island shares one station with its neighboring city, about 25 stations will need to be built. The average distance of the switching station is not less than 500km, and no premium is required. Calculated by price, the price of the entire grid will be: ~181 billion euros. This is a slight premium to take into account the fact that it might be a little more expensive in the Swiss area. The entire network line is also constructed for any additional submarine cables. About 35 countries were directly involved, and about 40 countries could receive effective assistance, accounting for 91% of the total coverage.
Route 3: The length of the new line would be about 9,000km, covering 45 cities directly. According to the principle of building three large transformer systems in southeast Europe, Where the island shares one station with its neighboring city, the number of large exchange stations that need to be built is about 20. Each 450km station needs to be built, and distances less than 500km will incur a 10% premium. The total quotation will be ~137 billion euro. The premium has already been taken into account, so the extra money needed to build in the Swiss mountains does not need to be calculated again. Thirty-seven countries are directly or indirectly served, with 84 percent coverage.
Route 4: The line would require the construction of an ultra-high voltage direct current grid of about 7,500km, covering about 35 cities. Based on the principle of building one large exchange station in the nearest city, we need to build about 15 new exchange stations. In this case, our 500km spacing principle is not exceeded, so no 10% premium is required. So, we can conclude that the price of the whole project will be around 104 billion Euros. Since the project is entirely in continental Europe, the number of countries covered is not very large, only 29. Coverage of about 66% is relatively low.
Route 5: This line has the highest coverage and is also the most expensive. The line would require about 21,000km of ultra-high voltage direct current (UHVDC) power grid and would have to cross a large number of mountainous areas. At the same time, the number of conversion stations is also the most needed. So, the estimated price for this route will be 300 billion Euros, but this is the only design that has 100% national coverage.
Conclusion:
The cheapest route, Line 1, is about the same price as the UK’s current HS2 project, which is around 100 billion euros and is a super-large project. The difference is that HS2 only works for the UK, while SuperGrid works for the whole of Europe. If the first phase is built now, the estimated cost should be around €150 billion. That may seem like a lot, but since it serves a Europe-wide grid system, it will provide much cheaper electricity in the future (by around 25%). Based on current electricity prices and usage in Europe, when the grid is fully plugged into service, the savings are estimated at around 50 million euros a year. Around 1,000 TWh of electricity is currently used in Europe each year, with electricity prices averaging 0.21 euros per kWh. Depending on the continued development of clean energy and the connection of new grids, the price could fall to around 0.12 euros per kWh.