On Thursday 29 November 2016, IHA CEO Richard Taylor met with a high-level delegation from the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO) to discuss collaboration opportunities.

GEIDCO is a non-governmental and non-profit international organisation initiated by State Grid Corporation of China, joint related enterprises, organisations, institutions and others.

GEIDCO’s delegation was led by its chairman Liu Zhenya, who is the former CEO of State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), the world’s largest utility with almost 2 million employees.) Mr Liu started his career as an engineer and spent four decades progressing within the sector, before stepping down as CEO at SGCC in May 2016 to take the position of chairman at GEIDCO.

The seven-person delegation led by Mr Liu consisted of prominent figures at the forefront of China’s efforts to advance grid interconnections, including Ms Zhang Liying, vice president, SGCC and Dr Lei Xianzhang, director general, European Office, GEIDCO.

During the meeting, Mr Liu and Mr Taylor discussed the key benefits of interconnections, the importance of developing them, and the significant role hydropower can play in the process.

Mr Taylor highlighted that further deployment of renewable energy sources can only be further realised through better interconnections.

This is a particularly prominent topic in China, which has roughly 330 GW of hydropower installed, with the potential to develop an additional 200 GW. However, this potential can only be realised with the support of interconnections and ultra-high-voltage (UHV) electricity lines in operation.

Mr Liu discussed his vision for GEIDCO, referring to “smart power grid+UHV grid+clean energy, which is an open and shared energy system with sustainable supply, green low-carbon and cost-effective economy”. GEIDCO further outlined its intention to focus on West Sichuan, West Hunan and West Tibet.

Both parties agreed to strength relations through regular exchanges and joint research projects, as China plans to develop significant pumped storage hydropower capacity in the future.

You can find out more about GEIDCO at www.geidco.org.