The world’s energy demands in 2050 could be met by an interconnected global solar-wind energy system producing three times the amount of power needed at a lower cost than independent regional systems, according to a Chinese-led study.

The researchers studied how to create a network drawing on regions with abundant renewable energy potential to provide energy across and between continents to areas with high needs.

While an international renewable energy market could be created by optimising solar and wind renewable energy deployment, the team said setting up such a system must navigate geopolitical boundaries and crises such as the Ukraine war.

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They said successful global interconnection could improve energy efficiency, ease the economic burden of decarbonisation and be resilient against conflict and climate extremes.

“Theoretically, the potential of solar and wind resources on Earth vastly surpasses human demand,” the researchers from China, Denmark and the United States said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications last month.

As the world shifts towards a renewable energy-dominated mix, the consequences of a mismatch between generation and demand could become more severe. Solar and wind generation are inherently intermittent, including daily and seasonal variations that might mean energy needs are not met during peak demand.

Power systems incorporating intermittent energy sources rely on energy storage and flexible energy generation sources such as hydropower to meet demand mismatches, which require expensive infrastructure and risk disruption under poor conditions, including extreme weather.