A concept discussion on northeast asia power grid interconnection

Northeast Asia is one of world's major economic and energy consumption centers. Countries in this region are undergoing rapid economic and social development, and energy security and greenhouse gas emission reduction have become prominent issues. In this region, clean energy resources including hydro, wind, and solar are concentrated in Russia, Mongolia, and Northeast China, whilst electricity load centers are in East China, Korea and Japan. Currently, an energy and electricity model has been developed to project electricity demand through 2030 for each country. Based on the idea of a Global Energy Interconnection, this article proposes to establish a Northeast Asia Grid Interconnection (NEAG), connecting Mongolia, China, Korea, Japan, and Russia with large volumes of transmission lines, in an effort to facilitate optimized resource allocation. The NEAG would be accomplished step by step along with identification of key interconnectors. China is set to play an important role in establishing the NEAG by providing a strong sending grid and necessary technological equipment. Tremendous economic, environmental, and social benefits are expected to be generated by the NEAG.