Europe's electricity grid is the world's most interconnected, with high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine cables and overhead lines linking national grids across climate zones. NordLink connects Norwegian hydro to German wind, NordBalt links Lithuania to Sweden, and planned projects will connect North African solar to Southern Europe.
The interconnected grid is a technology in itself: by linking Norwegian hydropower (storage), Danish wind, German solar, French nuclear, and Alpine pumped storage, Europe can balance variable renewable generation across time zones and weather systems. When the wind doesn't blow in the North Sea, Mediterranean solar or Alpine hydro can compensate.
The technical challenge is managing power flows across dozens of grid operators with different regulatory frameworks, market designs, and operational practices. ENTSO-E coordinates the synchronous grid of Continental Europe — the world's largest synchronized electrical grid, serving 400 million customers. The complexity of this coordination is itself a technology that no other continent has replicated.