?

A panel discussion is held prior to a signing ceremony between Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO) and Britain's Royal Academy of Engineering in London, Britain, on Jan. 25, 2018. Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization founded by China, on Thursday signed an MOU with Britain's Royal Academy of Engineering in London. The two sides agreed to carry out joint research and share information on renewable energy and Global Energy Interconnection. (Xinhua/Stephen Chung)

LONDON, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO) founded by China, on Thursday signed an MOU with Britain's Royal Academy of Engineering in London.

The two sides agreed to carry out joint research and share information on renewable energy and Global Energy Interconnection.

The Royal Academy of Engineering also held Global Energy Interconnection Seminar on the same day.

"The Great Britain will promote grid connection with the European continent in the Southwest, with Northern Europe in the Northeast and with Iceland and Greenland in the Northwest, making the Great Britain the hub of power exchange in Northeast Europe that provides reliable supply of clean power for economic growth," said Chairman of GEIDCO and CEC, Liu Zhenya on the seminar when envisioning the future of energy interconnection in Britain and Europe.

Europe is actively promoting the development of clean energy with significant progress. On Jan.17, The European Parliament voted in favor of sticking to the goal of increasing the share of renewable energy to 35 percent in the energy mix of EU by 2030, which is 8 percentage points higher than the 27 percent target proposed by the European Commission and the European Council earlier.

Liu proposed the general layout of European Energy Interconnection, which is to strengthen the construction of backbone grid to support the massive development and use of clean energy in the continent and promote grid interconnection among Europe, Asia and Africa to introduce clean power from Africa and Asia.

Since it started to levy tax on carbon emission in 2013, Britain witnessed continued drop in coal-fired thermal power generation and realized 24-hour zero coal-fired power generation for the first time in 2017 since the Industrial Revolution. The British government promised to close all coal-fired thermal power plants by 2025 and launched the "Clean Growth Strategy" in October, 2017 to bring the industrial strength of Britain to the fullest and reduce the cost of clean energy.

"If we can exploit 7.7 percent of the total area of the Saharan Desert for solar energy or 1/4 of the total area of Greenland for wind power, the future global demand for electric power can be fully met," said Liu, proposing that building Global Energy Interconnection (GEI)-based on UHV technologies will address major global challenges such as energy and resource shortage, environmental pollution, climate change and limited access to electricity, promote optimized allocation of clean energy globally and push forward the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement.

UHV DC is praised by Liu as the "intercontinental ballistic missile" in power transmission that could realize ultra-long distance and ultra-large scale power transmission. It is learned that UHV ±1100kV DC lines have a transmission distance of 6,000 km, with a capacity of 15GW, or 1/4 of the maximum power load of Britain.

GEI aims to establish an important platform for the large-scale global exploitation, transmission and utilization of clean energy. It will build a "super power grid" in a clean and efficient manner through cross-border and intercontinental grid interconnection. Building GEI has been incorporated into the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

GEIDCO has been committed to promoting the development of the initiative to meet global power demand with clean and green alternatives. Headquartered in Beijing, GEIDCO currently has 360 members across 45 countries and region.