Projet Desertecthumb|upright=2|Logo de l'initiative industrielle Dii. Desertec était un projet éco-énergétique de grande envergure qui prévoyait l'exploitation du potentiel énergétique solaire des déserts d'Afrique du Nord et du Moyen-Orient afin d'approvisionner durablement les régions avoisinantes (en particulier l'Europe) en électricité renouvelable. Le concept Desertec fut développé à l’origine par la « Coopération transméditerranéenne pour l'énergie renouvelable » (TREC pour Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation).
SuperSmart GridThe SuperSmart Grid (SSG) is a hypothetical wide area electricity network connecting Europe with northern Africa, the Middle East, and the IPS/UPS system of CIS countries. The system would unify super grid and smart grid capabilities into a comprehensive network. There are no planned locations for infrastructure or schedule explicitly for the SSG; the name is used to discuss the economic and technological feasibility of such a network and ways that it might gain political support.
Wide area synchronous gridA wide area synchronous grid (also called an "interconnection" in North America) is a three-phase electric power grid that has regional scale or greater that operates at a synchronized utility frequency and is electrically tied together during normal system conditions. Also known as synchronous zones, the most powerful is the Northern Chinese State Grid with 1,700 gigawatts (GW) of generation capacity, while the widest region served is that of the IPS/UPS system serving most countries of the former Soviet Union.
Super gridA super grid or supergrid is a wide-area transmission network, generally trans-continental or multinational, that is intended to make possible the trade of high volumes of electricity across great distances. It is sometimes also referred to as a "mega grid". Super grids typically are proposed to use high-voltage direct current (HVDC) to transmit electricity long distances. The latest generation of HVDC power lines can transmit energy with losses of only 1.6% per 1,000 km.
Courant continu haute tensionthumb|upright=1.5|Convertisseurs à thyristors sur le pôle 2 de la ligne Inter-Island en Nouvelle-Zélande.thumb|upright=1.5|Symbole d'un convertisseur AC/DC. Le courant continu haute tension (CCHT), en anglais High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC), est une technologie d'électronique de puissance utilisée pour le transport de l'électricité en courant continu haute tension. Son utilisation est minoritaire par rapport au transport électrique à courant alternatif (AC) traditionnel de nos réseaux électriques.
