CurrENT Europe

CurrENT is very much looking forward to attending CIGRE in Paris next week! Reach out to Layla Sawyer or Tullia De Rossi to schedule a meeting with the CurrENT Europe team.

"Boosting EU power integration can help Ukraine survive next winters," write Dr Susanne Nies, head of the Green Deal Ukraїna project and former board chair of CurrENT, and Oleh Savytskyi, Strategic Advisor & Founding Member of NGO Razom We Stand. In this opinion piece for Euractiv, the authors highlight six available options to enhance the EU-Ukraine interface that can be implemented relatively swiftly: ⚡ Fixing grid bottleneck issues both in Ukraine and neighbouring countries, such as reconstruction and upgrades of substations in border regions; ⚡ Expanding interconnections between Poland and Ukraine, by upgrading Rzesow-Khemlnitskyi 400kV line and repurposing the existing 220kV Zamość-Dobrotvir line; ⚡ Speeding up construction and commissioning of planned transmission projects between Ukraine and EU member states, such as Slovakia and Romania; ⚡ Using advanced technologies, including dynamic line rating and power electronics, to optimise the functioning of existing grids; ⚡ Using 110 kV grids abundant in Ukraine, including five 110 kV interconnections to Moldova as an additional way to import electricity, or connect new capacities outside of Ukraine; ⚡ Addressing the bottlenecks in the supplier market for electric equipment and spare parts, needed for repairs, upgrades and construction of new grids. https://lnkd.in/eMniwbzU

On the 11th of July, EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) issued a position paper on the challenges of the future electricity system, highlighting to the European Commission, Council and Parliament the below key electricity and infrastructure challenges to address in their upcoming mandates: ⚡Having an integrated pan-EU approach to electricity security of supply, with flexibility at its centre. ⚡ Enhancing electricity distribution networks and empowering consumers in decarbonised markets. ⚡Moving quicker towards electricity transmission infrastructure development with an improved assessment at pan-European level, recognising and sharing the costs and benefits. ⚡Applying the ‘Efficiency First’ principle also to existing grids and generation, enhancing the capacity of what we already have. ⚡Recognising that independent regulators can help address these challenges comprehensively and strengthen Member States’ trust in the EU electricity market. CurrENT supports the trajectory defined by EU energy regulators, together with the proposed recommendations and commitments that will allow the EU to actively steer the transformation and harness the power of the energy transformation. You can access ACER-CEER position paper here: https://lnkd.in/dzmZytfd 

The European Union needs to double targeted investment to meet its 2030 climate goal to 800 billion a year if it wants to reach its 2030 climate goals, a recent report by the European Climate Neutrality Observatory finds. To deliver on the 2030 climate goal, the bloc’s share of renewable electricity must grow 1.4 times faster.  Investment in grid infrastructure is needed to expand the share of renewable electricity to fully integrate this expanded share of the renewable energy supply. Innovative grid technologies can be installed quicker and at a lower cost than traditional grid infrastructure developments and should be prioritised for investment to reach 2030 targets and beyond.  You can read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/erU_dqmJ 

CurrENT is looking forward to attending EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and Joint Research Centre's (JRC) webinar today, taking place online from 14:30 – 15:30, “ensuring sufficient grid capacity for electricity trade”. The joint webinar will present and discuss the key findings from their 2024 publications, ACER’s yearly report on cross-zonal transmission capacitates and JRC’s future-looking assessment on the evolution of congestion management in the current EU design. In early 2024, the European Commission proposed a 90% emissions reduction target for the year 2040 in reference to the year 1990, and the deployment of distributed renewable generation is crucial to achieve this target. However, the two publications forecast an increase in power grid congestion in the coming years, thus limiting the integration of EU markets and curtailing renewable energy production. To address this, ACER calls for the swift implementation by Member States and TSOs of the 3 tools foreseen by EU rules to meet the 70% minimum requirement, and the JRC proposes to introduce further incentives for system-friendly investment and operation. Innovative grid technologies are proven to be an effective solution to grid congestion and curtailment, where the deployment of innovative grid technologies can increase the capacity of the existing grid, allowing for more energy to be transmitted. You can still register for the webinar yourself by following the link: https://lnkd.in/gHKa3fVJ

On the 27th of June the European Council adopted its Strategic Agenda for the 2024 – 2029 cycle. The agenda calls for strengthening Europe’s competitiveness and aiming to become the first carbon neutral continent by 2050.  CurrENT welcomes grids being mentioned as a key area of focus for making a success of the green and digital transition, where the agenda further underlines the need for “ambitious electrification using all net-zero- and low-carbon solutions, and investment in grids, storage and interconnections.” Innovative grid technologies can play a critical role in achieving Europe’s decarbonisation goals and should be central in any discussions surrounding grid investments for the future. You can read the full strategic agenda laid out by the council here: https://lnkd.in/eeX7UaGS 

CurrENT welcomes the conclusions of the recent Copenhagen Infrastructure forum, particularly: 🤝 The recognition of the work carried out by ACER and CEER surrounding regulatory investments and the promotion of “innovative, efficiency enhancing grid technologies through tariff design and methodology” and tasking ACER to further support NRAs in implementing these innovative regulatory approaches  📖 The forum calling for an agreed EU catalogue of output (supported by input) indicators for smart grids at all voltage levels to be fully developed and present it to the next Forum meeting.  💶 The forum calling for an uptake of anticipatory investments and of network efficiency technologies  "Technologies that can rapidly increase the capacity of the existing grid are here, they are available, they can be deployed in a matter of months" said Mark Norton, Vice-Chair of CurrENT.   You can read the all the conclusions in the following link: https://lnkd.in/efXdR6jz 

📢 Newsletter released📢 We just published our second quarterly CurrENT newsletter of the year. It details our contributions to policy work, events we hosted, as well as news from our members. You can read the full newsletter here 👉 : https://lnkd.in/efE3K7gV Don't miss out! Subscribe to the newsletter and get it sent straight to your inbox 📨 : http://eepurl.com/hj0r9b #innovativegridtechnologies #energygrids #energynews

Our Vice-Chair Mark Norton is at the Copenhagen Infrastructure Forum today on behalf of CurrENT. Its great for CurrENT to be represented at such an influential forum making important interventions on the future of Europes energy grid. Innovative grid technologies will need to play a key role for energy grids and Europe’s decarbonisation goals. #EnergyIF #CopenhagenInfrastructureForum

🚨 CurrENT's latest study with Compass Lexecon, 'Prospects for Innovative Power Grid Technologies', featured this week in Smart Energy International's Tech Talk. The article, written by Jonathan Spencer Jones, provides an overview of the study and the key takeaways. 💶 One of the takeaways from the study shows that regulatory barriers are delaying the wide scale deployment of innovative grid technologies. For example, there is a lack of incentives to opt for non-CAPEX intensive solutions and insufficient output incentives and incentives for innovation. The study highlights how an update of regulatory incentives can help fostering the rollout of innovative grid technologies and provide major benefits to the system. 💡The study, supported by Breakthrough Energy , examines eight different innovative grid technologies, analyses the potential of innovative grid technologies through cases studies, and assesses the role they can play in helping Europe reach its decarbonistion goals. 📩You can download the full study here: https://lnkd.in/eWywpFYb You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eJhXwfq6