China's Global Energy Interconnection
Abstract: In 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping endorsed a new initiative, known as the Global Energy Interconnection (GEI), that could help solve humanity's pressing energy and environmental disruption dilemmas through the development of a global power grid. The GEI would connect remote renewable sources of energy to global consumption centers using ultra-high-voltage power transmission lines spanning continents and smart technologies. This way, peak demand for electricity in the evening in eastern China, for example, could be met using solar power at noon in central Asia, matching supply and demand across countries and continents more efficiently. On paper, the proposal presents many benefits. However, concerns about China's intentions and the political, security, and economic implications of a China-led GEI also exist. The GEI is reminiscent of China's similar controversial initiatives to connect with the rest of the world in such sectors as telecommunications, port infrastructure, and rail. In this report, RAND researchers set out to advance knowledge on the GEI and to demystify the potential global security implications associated with this important but poorly understood initiative.
Bio: Ismael Arciniegas Rueda is senior economist at RAND and a professor of policy analysis at Pardee RAND Graduate School. Arciniegas has held leadership positions at major energy companies such as AES, PSEG, Constellation and TransAlta. At those companies, Arciniegas led structuring, quantitative and trading teams that successfully participated in wholesale, retail, and renewable energy markets. Some of the projects that Arciniegas worked on include: deployment of a global Energy Trading Risk system (at AES), managing one of largest U.S. wholesale load portfolios and launching a power retail business (at PSEG), leading R&D programs on risk management products for power/gas (at Constellation) and managing PJM congestion trading portfolio (at TransAlta).
Bio: Fiona Quimbre is a senior analyst at the RAND Corporation. Working primarily within RAND Europe, she leads the China portfolio. Her work focuses on the non-military dimensions of competition with China and their national security implications for European decision-makers. This includes topics such as China's interference in the European research enterprise or investments in the energy sector. Her research has been featured in The Times, Times Higher Education, and others, and she has briefed the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.
