IEEE Spectrum November, 2008 - 44

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BUILDING BLOCS: the electrical grids of europe, North Africa, and the middle east form
different synchronous blocs. western North Africa is already tied to europe's union for the
co-ordination of transmission of electricity [yellow]. in 2009, Libya, egypt, Jordan, syria, and
Lebanon [green] may join that bloc. energizing existing linkages to turkey [brown] would then
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SCUDS TO PLOWSHARES: A new 400-kilovolt substation, located in the sparsely populated
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knocked out power in the eastern half of
the country, including its second--largest
city, Benghazi, for more than four hours.
Subsequent analysis zeroed in on the
aging 220--kV lines connecting Libya's
population centers, which are dispersed
along the Mediterranean coast.
Libya clearly needs a more robust
and stable grid. It also wants to move
up the value chain, by exporting elec--
tricity instead of gas. And above all, it
yearns to end decades of isolation from
the international community.
The impact of that history lingers.

Libya's social infrastructure, including hos--
pitals, educational institutions, and transit
systems, remains outdated and inadequate.
The problems are obvious even to the casual
traveler. The roads between Tripoli and
its 1970s--era airport, for example, are run--
down and lined with unfinished housing
blocks-along with larger--than--life por--
traits of Qaddafi, the "Great Leader."
Although he as much as anyone is
responsible for the country's sorry state,
Qaddafi now perceives Libyans' power--
ful yearning to make up for lost time. In
March, he criticized his government for
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum November, 2008