meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Decarbonising the global energy grid

3 May 2024

As the effort to tackle the climate crisis continues, global demand for renewable energy has been increasing. Unfortunately, the windiest and sunniest parts of the world are not necessarily where the need for energy is highest. This is where transmission plays a big role, linking energy generation to energy use as a product of global interconnection, and diversifying production from renewable sources to create a steadier supply of clean power. 

Transporting energy across vast distances is not easy though. From the regulatory complexities of navigating cross-border infrastructure projects to the high costs of financing and the need for long-term planning and advanced technical capabilities, the challenges involved in successfully deploying long-distance transmission projects are varied. Overcoming these challenges is not a single party affair, but requires close collaboration across government, industry and non-governmental organisations. 

We conducted a study with nearly 600 industry experts from across the world who highlighted the pressing need for co-ordinated global action to rapidly develop grid infrastructure. Integrating renewable energy into existing grids was cited by participants as one of the most significant barriers to achieving net-zero objectives, alongside supply chain vulnerabilities and ability to access the required capital.

Multiple challenges

From a technical standpoint, there are multiple considerations when implementing cross-border interconnections. Regions can operate using different technical parameters, such as different voltages or frequencies. Even within the same country, interregional variations can create bottlenecks. Adopting regional or international grid codes could mitigate these issues.

Further challenges emerge when we take trading into account. This is where regulation can act as an enabler, facilitating the flow of electricity between countries. The European Union’s efforts to co-ordinate the design of its member state’s energy markets enables an increasingly smooth transmission of energy across the continent. Alongside this, existing infrastructure is outdated, requiring significant upfront investment to upgrade. Clarity on regulatory requirements and more transparency around plans for grid buildout, derisk funding for capital-intensive mega projects.

Coordinated action is vital for the transfer of energy across borders and access to renewable sources of energy

Positive benefits

Despite these challenges, the upside must be stressed. Integrating power systems across borders has many positive societal benefits, decreasing costs and hence energy bills through economies of scale, increasing energy security and lowering the environmental impact of operations. On the latter more specifically, larger power systems are able to integrate higher shares of variable renewables. Globally, the sun is always shining and the wind blowing somewhere. 

A common element, therefore, emerges: the need for increased cross-border co‑ordination. Whether it is bilateral, multi-lateral or unified, different models of inter-jurisdictional arrangements are needed for large-scale projects to support global energy interconnections. Our Xlinks project, which is using high-voltage direct current (HVDC) for transmission, is a standout example. 

Such projects represent what is needed more in the world, the combination of infrastructure and renewable power across borders, bringing together the public and private sectors for energy security, supply and affordability in an environmentally friendly way. Transporting clean energy using HDVC cables is a crucial step in powering a net-zero and equitable future, and more of this is needed to aid the transition to lower-carbon and prosperous economies. 

Political, technical and market hurdles can be overcome through collaboration and partnerships. Leveraging the collective expertise and resources of governments, regulators and the private sector can help ensure interconnections are developed quickly enough to support the energy transition. Grid buildout takes time. We have the resources required to meet ambitions, but stopping now is not viable. We must continue planning, building and maintaining large-scale infrastructure projects to meet the rising demand.

Coordinated action is vital for the transfer of energy across borders and access to renewable sources of energy. This was the message from Cop28 and the UAE Consensus: to help progress and secure a cleaner, brighter future for us all, we must break down barriers and come together. 

 

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11736994/main.gif

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • PDO allows more time for Al-Ghubar field project prices

    17 August 2026

     

    Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has allowed contractors additional time to prepare commercial bids for a project to build a new facility to handle additional oil production from the Al-Ghubar field in the sultanate.

    The Al-Ghubar field is located in the Ghaba Salt Basin at Qarn Alam, within majority state-owned PDO’s Block 6 concession area.

    The Al-Ghubar gas-oil gravity drainage (GOGD) facility will be designed as a sour (hydrogen sulphide) facility and is expected to handle maximum oil production of 1,800 standard cubic metres a day (cm/d), a maximum total water flow rate of 10,421 standard cm/d, and maximum gas lift of 256,934 standard cm/d. Production from the planned Al-Ghubar GOGD facility will be exported to PDO’s main oil line.

    Following receipt of the technical bids for the project in July, PDO granted contractors additional time – until 16 August – to submit commercial bids for the project, MEED recently reported.

    The project operator has now extended the deadline for submitting commercial bids to 1 September, sources told MEED.

    PDO floated the tender for the Al-Ghubar GOGD facility project in March, setting an initial bid submission deadline of 4 May, MEED previously reported.

    PDO later extended the deadlines for submission of technical and commercial bids to 26 July and 7 August, respectively. Contractors submitted technical proposals by the revised deadline, according to sources.

    The following contractors, among others, are understood to be bidding for the project:

    • Archirodon (Greece)
    • Engineering for the Petroleum & Process Industries (Egypt) / Petrojet (Egypt)
    • Jereh (China)
    • Kent (UAE)
    • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India)

    The scope of work on the Al-Ghubar GOGD facility project covers the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the following:

    • On-plot scope consists of:
      • Production separator  
      • Test separator  
      • Concentric wash tank
      • Wet oil pump
      • Water bath heater
      • Surge tank
      • Gas injection/gas lift compressor (centrifugal)
      • Utilities (Instrument Air compressors, chemical injection skids, drain system, vent system) 
      • Suction scrubber
      • Air coolers
      • Discharge scrubbers
      • Condensate flash drum
      • Atmospheric pressure knock-out drum 
      • Flare system
      • Gas heater
      • Water disposal pump
      • Oil shipping pump
      • New 132kV substation and plant substation (housing 6.6kV & 415-Volt switchboard)
      • New control room
         
    • Off-plot scope consists of:
      • Off-plot pipeline network (bulk header, test header, gathering infrastructure/ gathering line header, instrument air header, water disposal header)
      • Two remote manifold stations 
      • Tie-in connection to main oil line
      • Tie-in to gas network pipeline

    PDO previously intended to tender the Al-Ghubar GOGD project under its framework structure with selected EPC contractors, but eventually tendered it separately.

    PDO is the operator of the Block 6 hydrocarbons concession in Oman, which is the sultanate’s largest and most prolific concession. Situated onshore and covering an area of 75,119 square kilometres, Block 6 contains 202 oil fields and 43 gas fields, with PDO producing a total of approximately 680,000 barrels a day (b/d) of oil and condensates from those fields.

    The Omani government holds a 60% stake in PDO through Energy Development Oman (EDO). The other shareholders are UK-based Shell (34%), France’s TotalEnergies (4%) and Thailand’s state-owned PTTEP (2%).

    ALSO READ: PDO floats tender for major flare gas monetisation scheme
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18799485/main.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • L’imad eyes full takeover of AD Ports Group

    17 August 2026

    Abu Dhabi’s sovereign investor, L’imad Holding, has announced its intention to take full ownership of AD Ports Group by offering to acquire the remaining 24.6% of its publicly listed shares through a voluntary, conditional, all-cash tender offer.

    The bid will be launched via L’imad’s wholly owned unit, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ), which already controls 75.42% of AD Ports Group. The offer seeks to acquire 100% of the issued and paid-up share capital and take the port operator private.

    Shareholders would be offered AED6.25 per share in cash. L’imad said the offer provides investors with “an attractive opportunity to realise certain and immediate value”.

    Based on the proposed terms, the transaction values the remaining free float at about AED31.8bn ($8.66bn).

    Rothschild & Co’s local office has been appointed financial adviser.

    Emirates NBD Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank will act as joint lead receiving banks, while Emirates NBD Capital and First Abu Dhabi Bank will serve as joint lead managers.

    Cairo-headquartered EFG Hermes has been appointed co-lead manager, and UK-based Allen Overy Shearman Sterling is acting as legal adviser.

    The move comes shortly after AD Ports Group posted its strongest quarterly performance to date, reporting an 88% increase in second-quarter net profit to AED836m ($227m).

    Revenue for the second quarter of this year rose 47% to $2bn, supported by gains across maritime and shipping, economic cities and free zones, and logistics.

    In January, Abu Dhabi approved plans to consolidate ADQ’s investment portfolio into L’imad Holding under the chairmanship of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

    L’imad has been mandated to build, develop and manage a diversified portfolio of assets and projects in priority sectors in the UAE and internationally, with a focus on infrastructure and real estate, financial services, and asset and investment management.

    Once fully consolidated, the platform will encompass more than 25 investment companies and platforms, alongside over 250 subsidiaries.

    L’imad’s portfolio includes Taqa (utilities and power), Modon Properties (real estate), Etihad Airways (aviation), PureHealth (healthcare), Etihad Rail (transport infrastructure), Wio Bank (digital finance), AD Ports (logistics and maritime trade), McLaren (motorsport) and Louis Dreyfus (agricultural commodities).

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18798489/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Saudi firms to build Expo 2030 power infrastructure

    17 August 2026

    Saudi Energy, formerly Saudi Electricity Company, has named four contractors that will deliver electricity infrastructure for the Expo 2030 Riyadh site.

    The local Al-Babtain, Haif Company, Alfanar and Trading & Development Partnership (TDP) will construct several substations and connect them to the national grid under an agreement signed between Saudi Energy and Expo 2030 Riyadh Company (ERC).

    Saudi Electricity Projects Development Company (PDC), Saudi Energy’s project development arm, will oversee implementation.

    The scope includes a main 380/132kV supply station and three primary 132/13.8kV substations as well as associated electricity infrastructure.

    In March, MEED reported that Saudi Energy was moving forward with procurement of an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for three 132/13.8kV substations in Riyadh to support Expo 2030.

    The latest agreement is understood to relate to the same substations. According to sources, nine companies submitted bids for the project in June.

    These included the following local firms: Al-Babtain Contracting, Al-Gihaz Holding, Al-Haider Company, Alfanar Projects, Haif Company, Mohammed Al-Ojaimi Group, Nesma Infrastructure & Technology and Tareg Al-Jaafari Contracting Establishment.

    India’s Larsen & Toubro also submitted a bid for the project.

    The infrastructure will provide electricity to the Expo site ahead of the event and allow testing and trial operations to be completed before the Expo opens.

    In January, the local firm Nesma & Partners won an estimated SR1bn ($267m) contract to deliver the initial infrastructure works at the Expo site.

    Expo 2030 Riyadh is scheduled to take place from 1 October 2030 to 31 March 2031. The event is expected to attract about 42 million visits and will involve 197 participating countries.

    READ THE AUGUST 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Saudi Arabia builds for the global stage; Rising uncertainty creates fresh set of challenges in the Maghreb; Gulf banks remain robust in the face of geopolitical tensions.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the August 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > MARKET FOCUS: Maghreb fortunes diverge
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18798653/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Design contract awarded for Algerian gas project

    17 August 2026

     

    Indonesia’s Synergy Engineering has been provisionally awarded a design contract for a planned gas project in Algeria.

    The front-end engineering and design (feed) contract was awarded by Pertamina Algeria Eksplorasi Produksi (PAEP), which is a subsidiary of Indonesia’s state-owned energy company.

    The contract was awarded by PAEP in association with Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach and Spain’s Repsol.

    Sonatrach, Pertamina and Repsol are partners in Block 405a of the Menzel Ledjmet Nord (MLN) field.

    The feed contract covers developing a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plant and a water injection facility at the MLN field as part of the field’s fifth development phase.

    Block 405a is situated onshore in the Illizi-Ghadames Basin in eastern Algeria. It comprises eight oil and gas fields split over three onstream development areas.

    Algeria is home to Africa’s second-largest proven natural gas reserves after Nigeria. It is also Africa’s largest natural gas producer.

    Amid ongoing issues exporting oil and gas from the GCC due to disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Algeria is seeking to increase its oil and gas exports to meet European demand.

    In July, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune oversaw the signing of dozens of bilateral agreements as part of a wider push to bolster political and economic ties between Germany and Algeria.

    The agreements included several focused on oil, gas and energy.

    On 2 July, Sonatrach delivered its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) directly to Germany’s Wilhelmshaven 1 floating LNG import terminal.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18756842/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Contractors win construction packages for Egypt’s Ras El-Hekma

    17 August 2026

    Egypt’s Rowad Modern Engineering has announced that it has won new contracts to undertake construction works on two packages at the Ras El-Hekma master development on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.

    Ras El-Hekma’s master developer, Modon Holding, awarded the contracts.

    The first contract covers construction works for Area 2 of the Wadi Yemm basement. The scope includes constructing multilevel basement structures that will support upcoming developments at the site.

    Rowad Modern Engineering is delivering the project in a joint venture with Lebanon’s Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC).

    The second contract covers substation works, to be delivered in a joint venture with local contractor Elsewedy Electric.

    Wadi Yemm is the first of the 17 planned precincts to move into active delivery. It is a mixed-use cultural and hospitality district, anchored by the Ras El-Hekma Lighthouse and a 10,000-seat amphitheatre, designed to host cultural and entertainment programmes.

    Ras El-Hekma is located on a spur of land on Egypt’s northern Mediterranean coastline, about 240 kilometres west of Alexandria.

    Abu Dhabi-based holding company ADQ appointed Modon Holding as the master developer for the Ras El-Hekma project in 2024. Modon will oversee the overall development, which covers more than 170 million square metres (sq m).

    Modon will develop the first phase of the project, covering 50 million sq m. The remaining 120 million sq m will be developed in partnership with private developers under the supervision of the recently established ADQ subsidiary Ras El-Hekma Urban Development Project Company and Modon.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18790805/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal