Devapriyo Das
September 25, 2025
Gridlocked: What is holding up tomorrow’s resilient electricity grid?
There is no green energy transition without a large-scale grid build-out. Dr Mohamed Rashwan, managing director of TransGrid Solutions (TGS) that was recently acquired by Ramboll, explores the issues that can impact grid expansion – from too few suppliers to too many permits - and how to overcome them.
Electricity demand is growing worldwide but the grid infrastructure that brings power from generators to users is under strain. The need to integrate a growing share of renewables into the energy mix and adopt new technology for efficient grid management is further increasing the pressure.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global electricity usage is expected to increase by nearly 4% every year through 2027, while the number of kilometres of electrical cables that transport power will have to be doubled by 2040 to reach national climate and energy goals. It is a massive task, that urgently needs doing, as grid infrastructure enables access to energy at competitive cost, helping drive industrial growth.
Why is the build out of electrical grids critical to meet the growing need for energy?
Mohamed Rashwan: The energy transition of the electricity grid is taking place on two levels. First, generating and transmitting high-voltage power over long distances, and second, distributing lower-voltage power to consumers. Let me focus on the former, which is TGS’ specialty.
Society is transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy-based generation, dominated by wind and solar power, and batteries. This requires adding lots of new transmission capacity to integrate large volumes of renewable energy. It also means new challenges from retiring large fossil-fuel based synchronous machines and introducing power electronics-based sources into the power system.
To meet these challenges as well as grid expansion, we will need to take advantage of new technological breakthroughs, as well as utilising the advantages and features that FACTS (Flexible Alternating Current Transmission Systems) and power electronics can provide.
For the foreseeable future, the fundamental structure of the grid will likely remain as it is today. However, underground power cables will play a bigger role in certain parts of the world, for example within the EU. This is mainly due to public sensitivity to the idea of overhead transmission lines.
What is holding back the energy sector from building grids faster and bigger?
Transmission system operators, utilities, suppliers, EPC contractors, and consultants all face the same challenges in building the electricity grid faster, including design and manufacturing capacity in the OEM [original equipment manufacturer] sector; human resources; and the time needed for environmental assessment and licensing.
In the past, a high voltage direct current (HDVC) project would normally take four to five years from award to completion. We could get several bids, for such projects. Nowadays, owing to the demand for HDVC, but with a limited number of vendors, you may get one or two bids if you issue a tender; and the vendors say their projects will be ready seven to eight years from award. Further, the trend now is to negotiate and select an OEM from the outset. In my opinion, the customers need to adjust to this new way of life.
It is not about the technology but about the lack of resources in the supply chain. Even when buying basic components like breakers, there can be a two-year wait period. Most of all, there is the problem of building more factories to produce more components such as transformers for the electrical grid. It is a balancing act between needs here and now, and in the future. If the manufacturer builds more transformer manufacturing capacity, and demand declines in future, then there will be surplus capacity.
Meeting the manufacturing challenge means new vendors will have to enter the picture. These players are present in Asia, among others, but there are constraints and reservations to accepting products for grid infrastructure from outside of the EU and US. Such problems should be addressed.
What else is holding back the build-out of energy grids: is it policy, permitting, or human resources?
Permitting and policy go hand in hand. Permitting depends on the will to streamline and speed up the process. For example, in Canada, the government is aiming to have only one process at both the federal and provincial levels. If a province gets a licence to build out the grid, the federal government will not repeat the process. Yet permitting needs to be faster, while respecting environmental and social concerns. It’s a political challenge, not a technical one.
Finding skilled engineers is not easy. This impacts the industry at all levels: manufacturing, system operators, utilities, and consultants.
"Resilience means you build a system that can face problems without adverse results. The problems range from cyber security to severe weather events. With climate shocks increasing, be it from wildfires, or extreme heat or cold, or floods, there are likely to be more outages"
For instance, if one transmission circuit fails, then we would need another. You would need not only to consider adding more circuits, but also to not add them in the same transmission corridor, as the same weather event could take them both out. The topic of resilience is a big topic, and it has to be addressed on a case-by case basis. It cannot be generalised.
Reliability, which can be considered as an index for resilience, can be built into a system, but only if the customer is willing to pay for it. Today, data centre owners, for example, ask for very high reliability because interruption is a no go for them, and they are willing to pay a premium for reliability. However, this is not the typical customer.
What is the story you need to tell governments, manufacturers, and clients to convince them to prioritise investing in a future proof resilient grid?
We know for a fact that the energy transition is here to stay, no ifs or buts. Further, there is growing demand for electrification, including in Asia, Africa, and South America. Their demand is independent of the energy transition. This means we have both the energy transition, and the demand increase in developing economies.
A key part of the energy transition is interconnections. You don’t need wind or solar in your own back yard. Interconnections take advantage of either time diversity or climate diversity between countries and regions, helping bring power from where it is generated, to where it is needed, sometimes over great distances. TGS has been involved in many interconnection projects utilising HVDC, for example, the Egypt to Saudi Arabia HVDC project, which is under implementation.
Grid expansion key numbers
- : > $200 billion
(US) in annual global investment in power transmission by mid-2030s, to meet rising electricity demand
- : >1,600 GW
Wind and solar projects in advanced development stage currently awaiting grid connection
- : +1.5 million
skilled workers needed to build and maintain grids needed by 2030, in addition to the workforce of approx. 8 million today
Why the TGS-Ramboll merger makes sense for the energy industry’s grid ambitions
TGS was welcomed into the Ramboll group in August 2025. The merger marries the deep technical skill of TGS in specific parts of the grid value chain, such as a within HVDC, with Ramboll’s broad competences in other parts of that same value chain.
“Previously, Ramboll and TGS could individually deliver specific parts of those projects, with the client then seeking alternative suppliers to complete their project” says Mohamed Rashwan. “With our merger, clients now have a one-stop shop in Ramboll for grid projects.”
Want to know more?
Devapriyo Das
Head of Global Editorial Content
+45 51 61 21 49
Mohamed Rashwan
VP- Market and client officer
+1 204 989 4852