Net Zero & the Grid - overview
Grid systems must be fundamentally transformed to keep pace with clean energy deployments.
To reach Net Zero1, over 8Bn people must move to a new energy model in less than three decades. Electrification is critical to this movement and power grids must be transformed to handle up to three times current demand, virtually all of it drawn from decarbonized sources.
This Energy Transition — the move away from fossil fuels as the dominant energy source — has made impressive progress. On the energy supply side, steep falls in the cost of solar and wind generation deployment mean that decarbonized energy is now more economical2 than fossil by a significant margin — a spread that is only likely to grow as Swanson's Law 3 continues to be surpassed. This is having an extraordinary impact — solar deployments have raced ahead of even the most bullish of forecasts — and show no signs of letting up.
However, grid systems must be fundamentally transformed to keep pace with this new paradigm. In this section, we try to provide context to that transformation. We examine the importance of energy storage to a functioning Decarbonized Grid.
Clean electricity is to be the linchpin of the global energy system4, providing 50% of total final consumption by 2050, up from 20% in 2020. This requires two distinct but co-dependent movements:
- Mass electrification of devices that previously ran on fossil fuel
- Transportation of mostly decarbonized power to that enlarged market
But Grid systems have a journey to travel in order to be ready to connect decarbonised sources at the required scale or to deliver that increased power demand. The principle of a Decarbonized Grid is elemental to Net Zero. Our focus in this blog is on the direction of travel of the electrical grid as it is retooled to buffer the variability of wind and solar and smooth out the energy supply.
A fundamental transformation in energy usage and energy storage is underway.
In this section, we outline the role of the Grid in the Energy Transition. If this is your first time of reading, begin with Electrify Everything - the rationale for extensive device electrification.
And by following the thread instructions at the bottom of each post, you'll read these successive posts:
- Decarbonize the Grid - and the monumental challenge it represents
- How Grids Evolved - a brief history to inform the challenges ahead
- Grid Balance & Stability - and how solar & wind present new challenges
- The concept of Grid Inertia - and how a new approach is required
- Grid Congestion & Bottlenecks - their impact and why they are more likely
- What is the "Smart Grid" - the ongoing journey of grid digitization
References
- The IEA's pathway for the global energy sector to reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 - Net Zero Emissions by 2050
- PV Magazine, Dec 2023 - Solar levelized cost of electricity is 29% lower than any fossil fuel alternative and Jul 2025 - Solar cost of electricity beats lowest-cost fossil fuel
- Swanson's Law - the observation that the price of solar PV modules tends to drop 20 percent for every doubling of cumulative shipped volume
- From the IEA's World Energy Outlook 2022