The synchronous grid of Continental Europe (also known as Continental Synchronous Area; formerly known as the UCTE grid) is the second largest synchronous electrical grid (by connected power) in the world. It is interconnected as a single phase-locked 50 Hz mains frequency electricity grid that supplies over 400 million customers in 24 countries, including most of the European Union. In 2009, 667 GW of production capacity was connected to the grid, providing approximately 80 GW of operating reserve margin. The transmission system operators operating this grid formed the Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity (UCTE), now part of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E).
Area
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The synchronous grid of Continental Europe covers territory of the ENTSO-E Continental Europe regional group and some neighboring countries not involved in the ENTSO-E. The synchronous grid includes part or all of Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark (western part), France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland as a members of the ENTSO-E Continental Europe regional group. In addition to the ENTSO-E members, the small west electricity island of Ukraine is synchronized with the grid of Continental Europe. Albania is operating the national grid synchronously with the synchronous grid of Continental Europe. The grids of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia are synchronised with the European grid through the Gibraltar AC link and form the SWMB. In April 2015, the grid of Turkey was synchronized with the European grid.
Although synchronous, some countries operate in a near island mode, with low connectivity to other countries. The European Commission considers high connectivity to be beneficial, and has listed several interconnection projects as Projects of Common Interest. However, the national grids must also be upgraded to handle increased power flows if the values of a free energy market are to be realised in the EU.
On 16 March 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ENTSO-E set up synchronisation with the networks of Ukraine and Moldova on an emergency basis to provide external support for the power supply in those countries. (Plans for Ukraine to shift from the Russian grid to the European grid were already in progress, with an experimental disconnect from the Russian grid underway when the invasion occurred.) Power exchange and integration gradually increased, and by August 2022, 400—700 MW were sent from Ukraine to Eastern parts of EU.
List of electricity interconnection levels
 | This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (July 2024) |
| External images | |
|---|---|
 2011 interconnection levels, and 2020 plans | |
| 2019 grid map |
Electricity interconnection as percentage (EIL = electricity interconnection level) of installed electricity production capacity in 2014; the EU goal of at least 10% for 2020, and 15% for 2030.
Alternative formulas for calculating interconnection levels are based on peak load instead of installed capacity.
Some border transmissions, particularly around the Alps, have both high utilization rate and high price difference, implying that further transmission would be beneficial.
| Country | EIL 2014 | EIL 2017 | Capacity 2019 | Peak load 2018 |
Interconnection level with | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interconnection | Generation | 2002 method | 1st Expert Group's method | ||||
| Austria | 29% | 11.8 | 21.3 | 12.1 | 55% | 98% | |
| Belgium | 17% | 19% | 8.6 | 23.1 | 13.5 | 37% | 64% |
| Bulgaria | 11% | 1.9 | 12.7 | 6.5 | 15% | 29% | |
| Croatia | 69% | 3.2 | 5.0 | 3.2 | 64% | 99% | |
| Cyprus | 0% | 0.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0% | 0% | |
| Czech Republic | 17% | 9.5 | 20.8 | 11.1 | 45% | 85% | |
| Denmark | 44% | 51% | 7.4 | 15.9 | 6.1 | 46% | 121% |
| Estonia | 1.8 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 65% | 120% | ||
| Finland | 30% | 3.9 | 17.3 | 14.2 | 23% | 28% | |
| France | 10% | 22.3 | 130.7 | 96.3 | 17% | 23% | |
| Germany | 10% | 28.4 | 222.4 | 79.1 | 13% | 36% | |
| Greece | 11% | 1.1 | 17.1 | 9.1 | 6% | 12% | |
| Hungary | 29% | 6.4 | 9.1 | 6.6 | 70% | 97% | |
| Italy | 7% | 11.0 | 94.4 | 57.6 | 12% | 19% | |
| Latvia | 2.0 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 71% | 161% | ||
| Lithuania | 2.4 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 67% | 121% | ||
| Luxembourg | 245% | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 409% | 105% | |
| Malta | 0.2 | 0.7 | – | 30% | – | ||
| Netherlands | 17% | 18% | 11.2 | 30.5 | 18.5 | 37% | 61% |
| Norway | 8.7 | 30.5 | 24.1 | 28% | 36% | ||
| Poland | 4% | 6.0 | 42.5 | 24.5 | 14% | 24% | |
| Portugal | 7% | 4.0 | 19.6 | 8.7 | 20% | 46% | |
| Romania | 7% | 2.2 | 18.8 | 8.9 | 12% | 24% | |
| Slovakia | 61% | 5.5 | 7.6 | 4.5 | 73% | 122% | |
| Slovenia | 65% | 4.7 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 127% | 199% | |
| Spain | 2% | 7.6 | 104.7 | 40.6 | 7% | 19% | |
| Sweden | 26% | 12.3 | 40.8 | 27.4 | 30% | 45% | |
| Switzerland | 16.8 | 16.1 | 9.8 | 105% | 172% | ||
Interconnections
The British grid is not synchronized with the Continental Europe frequency, but it is interconnected using high-voltage direct current (HVDC) via the HVDC Cross-Channel (IFA), BritNed, Nemo Link, IFA-2, North Sea Link, Viking Link and ElecLink links. In 2014, before Nemo Link, IFA-2, ElecLink and North Sea Link became operational, the United Kingdom's electricity interconnection level was 6%.
The networks of Ireland and Northern Ireland form the ENTSO-E Irish regional group, which is not yet interconnected with the Continental Europe grid, but has DC interconnections with the British network through the HVDC Moyle Interconnector and the East–West Interconnector.
Similarly, the Nordic regional group of ENTSO-E (former NORDEL), composed of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the eastern part of Denmark (Zealand with islands and Bornholm), is not synchronized with the Continental Europe, but has a number of non-synchronous DC connections with the Continental Europe grid. Gotland is not synchronized with the Swedish mainland, as it is connected by HVDC.
The network of ENTSO-E Baltic regional group, composed of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, currently part of the IPS/UPS system, is interconnected with the Nordic grid at an electricity interconnection level of 10% through the HVDC Estlink cables and NordBalt cable, which is functioning since 2015. The Baltics are also connected with the Continental Europe grid through the Lithuania–Poland interconnection.
The networks of Iceland and Cyprus are not yet interconnected with the other grids. Malta is connected up to 35% via the Malta-Sicily interconnector, commissioned in 2015.
Future extension plans
ENTSO-E is studying the following extensions:
- Tunisia–Libya synchronous connection: to synchronise the Continental Europe with Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon (the latter five countries constitute the SEMB of the Mediterranean Electricity Ring project), in addition to others projects in the Mediterranean sea not necessarily relying on a synchronous connection, such as:
- EuroAsia Interconnector HVDC project between Greece, Cyprus, and Israel,
- DESERTEC concept.
- ENTSO-E Baltic regional group synchronous extension: to disconnect only these networks from the IPS/UPS system and synchronously interconnect them to the synchronized grid of Central Europe. On 22 April 2023 a trial was scheduled in the Baltic states to test the infrastructure and operate for a day outside of IPS/UPS. On 16 July 2024, the three Baltic states formally notified Russia and Belarus of their decision to withdraw from the BRELL agreement. The agreement will legally expire on 7 February 2025 and the Baltic states will technically disconnect from IPS/UPS on 8 February 2025.
- ENTSO-E Nordic regional group synchronous extension.
- Turkey-Iraq synchronous interconnection: in the past the Armenia and Turkmenistan networks were part of the Soviet unified system, but currently they are connected to the Iran grid.
See also
- SuperSmart Grid – proposal for a wide area synchronous grid combining European, IPS/UPS and Middle East networks
- Super grid
- European super grid
- Synchronous grid of Northern Europe
References
- "UCTE Annual REport 2008" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- "ENTSO-E at a Glance" (PDF). ENTSO-E. June 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ COM/2015/082 final: "Achieving the 10% electricity interconnection target" Text Archived 8 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine PDF Archived 2 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine pp. 2–5. European Commission, 25 February 2015. Archive Mirror Archived 18 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- "Union list of projects of common interest Archived 20 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine" p. 10. European Commission, 18 November 2015.
- ACER Market Monitoring Report - 2015 (PDF). Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators. 30 November 2015. ISBN 978-92-95083-19-6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help) - "ENTSO-E agrees to start trial synchronization of continental European power grids with those of Ukraine, Moldova from March 16". Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- Blaustein, Anna. "How Ukraine Unplugged from Russia and Joined Europe's Power Grid with Unprecedented Speed". Scientific American. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- "Transmission System Operators for Electricity of Continental Europe agree to increase the trade capacity with the Ukraine/Moldova power system". www.entsoe.eu. 29 July 2022.
- "Ukraine will Atomstrom nach Deutschland liefern". stern.de (in German). 3 September 2022.
- ^ "Modelling the European cross-border electricity transmission" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- Mezősi, András; Pató, Zsuzsanna; Szabó, László (3 July 2016). "Assessment of the EU 10% interconnection target in the context of CO 2 mitigation". Climate Policy. 16 (5): 659. Bibcode:2016CliPo..16..658M. doi:10.1080/14693062.2016.1160864. S2CID 156191690.
- "North Sea Region interconnection, Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme". northsearegion.eu. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- Trakimavicius, Lukas (10 February 2021). "The Hidden Threat To Baltic Undersea Power Cables". energy-security.net. NATO ENSEC COE Energy Security blog. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ""Litgrid" pirmą kartą veikė visiškai savarankiškai – atliko izoliuoto darbo bandymą". delfi.lt (in Lithuanian). 22 April 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ "Baltic states give Russia notice of electricity grid switch-off date". LSM. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.