The integrated grid can be imagined as a large ring, connecting Norway with the United Kingdom, and then linking across the channel to France, Belgium, and Holland, before moving on to Germany and returning to Scandinavia. Its implementation would allow Europe to introduce a free-trade zone for renewable energy, reducing the need for storage and excess capacity to back up variable power supplies.
我们可以把整合电网想象成一个巨大的环，从英国连接到挪威，然后穿越英吉利海峡与法国，比利时和荷兰对接，再接上德国并回到斯堪的纳维亚半岛。它的实施将使欧洲得以建立一个可再生能源的自由贸易区，并因此减少为支撑其他各类能源供应所需的储存空间和过剩产能。电网不但能维持自身的运营，而且可以通过提供与能源市场的已有连接通道，使新风力发电站的成本下降30%。