On July 7, Zhenya Liu, Chairman of the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO), held talks with Prof. Chai K Toh FREng, Asia Pacific Chair of UK Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE). They had extensive exchange and reached many common views on Global Energy Interconnection (GEI) Initiative and the Energy, Transportation and Information Networks (ETI) Integration.
Zhenya Liu said that on September 26, 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the GEI initiative at the UN Sustainable Development Summit. Over the past five years, remarkable progress has been made in GEI development. By virtue of the UHV technology, the long-distance and large-capacity power transmission is no longer a global challenge. It can optimize the allocation of clean energy across the globe, and enable the power transmission over thousands of kilometers on GW levels. With these advantages, the UHV technology plays a pivotal role in the GEI development. Since its establishment, GEIDCO has redoubled efforts to turn China’s proposal into a global action, like establishing two planning systems for the energy interconnection at the global level, on all continents, and in key regions, and investment in clean energy development. GEIDCO has also joined efforts with the UN and government departments, enterprises and institutions of many countries, forging a global cooperation platform for achieving shared growth through consultation and collaboration.
Prof. Chai K Toh FREng introduced RAE in terms of talent diversity, innovation, global partnerships, and policy participation, as well as its work plans and goals in the Asia Pacific. He said that it’s necessary to rally all efforts to cope with global challenges like climate change, energy crisis, and high carbon emissions. The GEI Initiative helps to optimize energy supply and enable access to affordable energy, and thus contributes to the sustainable development of the economic society. As Asia Pacific Chair of UK RAE, he hoped to share the findings and progress of GEI with other fellows of FREng, and facilitating the development of GEI and ETI Integration in the Asia Pacific region.
The RAE is the Britain’s national academy for engineering, and one of the most esteemed institutes worldwide. In recent years, GEIDCO has maintained close cooperation with the RAE, and the two sides have signed a cooperation agreement.