Sustainable Markets Initiatives in Action

SMI Pathfinders

    Pathfinders

    Pathfinder in development

    Grids & Interconnectors

    Placeholder for loading
    Grids

    Grids and interconnectors are now the critical enabler of economic growth, energy security, and the clean energy transition, yet delivery is constrained by fragmented demand signals, uncertain offtake, permitting delays, connection queues, and bottlenecks across capital, supply chains, and regulation. Demand for secure, reliable, affordable, and clean electricity is surging: renewable generation is scaling rapidly, AI-driven data centre load is accelerating, and industrial electrification is gathering pace. 

    Problem statement

    • Insufficient enabling grid infrastructure to integrate high volumes of variable renewables. 

    • Grid infrastructure and interconnection have become the primary bottleneck to the energy transition: Connection queues across Europe and North America run to hundreds of gigawatts; permitting timelines stretch to years; and supply chain constraints limit the speed at which new capacity can be built. 

    • Slow pace and barriers to scaling renewable deployment due to regulatory, environmental, and cross-border coordination gaps: Even with falling costs for wind and solar, projects face lengthy permitting, inconsistent regulations, and added political and technical complexity for cross-border links. 

    • Financing and investment shortfalls for grids, interconnectors, and cross-border infrastructure: Trillions are needed for grid expansion, storage, and interconnectors but investment is uneven and concentrated in advanced economies. 

    Implementation pillars

    1. Maximising Existing Infrastructure 

      Extract maximum capacity from assets already built through digitalisation, AI and demand-side levers, before committing to costly new build.  

    2. Renewable Generation & Storage Integration 

      Accelerate grid-friendly deployment of renewables and storage leveraging the increased available storage duration to solve the coincidence problem between variable generation and inflexible demand. 

    3. New Grid & Interconnector Build-Out 

      Accelerate permitting, financing and delivery of the physical infrastructure including transmission and distribution network expansion — transmission lines, substations, offshore cables and cross-border interconnectors required to carry clean energy at scale and avoid downstream bottlenecks.  

    4. Demand Aggregation & Bankable Offtake 

      The SMI will develop demand aggregation mechanisms and pipeline visibility platforms providing bankable long-term signals to supply chains across high-voltage cables, transformers, and critical minerals. Stimulating corporate, industrial, and data centre sectors to commit to predictable, long-term electricity demand through PPAs and capacity contracts will clear speculative backlogs and give investors the confidence to commit capital at the scale required. 

    5. Financing, Risk-Sharing & Policy 

      Mobilise private capital at scale through financing structures, risk-sharing mechanisms and advocacy for enabling policy frameworks.  

    6. Showcasing & Amplification 

      The SMI will showcase leading efforts across the value chain, positioning SMI-facilitated projects as global benchmarks for delivery and impact, through traditional media, SMI platforms, and SMI Roundtables & Exhibition.