In March this year, SB Energy Corp. (Japan), State Grid Corporation of China, Korea Electric Power Corp., and Rosseti, a Russian electric power and grid operator, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to conduct technical and economic feasibility studies toward creating the international electricity transmission network in Northeast Asia.
The first step was made when SB Energy Corp. part of the SoftBank Group,, operating 33 utility-scaled renewable power plants in Japan, has secured a land-leasing right in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia for the next 100 years to develop and operate 7 GW of wind farms. Now with the MOU, wind energy generated in Mongolia could be transmitted to Japan, through China and South Korea via undersea transmission cables, and hydropower generated in Russia could be delivered to Japan and other nations.
The costs of bringing electricity generated by hydropower in Russia to Japan, as well as wind energy generated in Mongolia via China and then South Korea to Japan via undersea transmission cables both are below 10.5 cents/kWh, which is the cost of electricity generated by a coal-fired power plant in Japan.
Japan, China, South Korea, and Russia represents 76 percent of Asia’s total electricity generation, and 77 percent of Asia’s total electricity consumption. Read more at http://www.renewableenergyworld.com
