Energy & Climate: Delivering the Green Deal: the role of energy infrastructure

Published: 15 May 2020

Policies & Issues: Energy & Climate

The European Green Deal aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. That means a future energy system that is more electric, more sector-coupled, more renewable-based and energy efficient, significantly more local but interconnected and digitally enabled. A key to delivering such a power system will be a modern, future-proof, secure and smart energy infrastructure. Europe’s technology industries, represented by Orgalim, provide innovative technologies for the generation, transmission, distribution and end use of energy. At the same time, our industries rely on continuous energy supply for their manufacturing activities in the European Union, which provide innovative jobs for more than 11 million Europeans. Orgalim is particularly committed to contribute to evolving, upgrading, interconnecting and an overall modernising of Europe’s energy infrastructure to ensure reliable access to affordable, secure, safe and sustainable energy for all Europeans and to set a global energy technology leadership standard.

In November 2018, the European Commission published eight energy scenarios for 2050, outlining different emission-cutting pathways to make Europe’s economy compliant with the Paris Agreement. The scenarios include average annual investments in the power grid of €80 billion to €110 billion between 2031 and 2050.

The push for clean energy depends on sustainable investment from both the public and private sectors. The Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) regulation, the Connecting Europe Facility and the system of network fees and charges are three key elements to unlock the necessary investments. Grid investments are for the long-term and should therefore also be considered as such. Rather than focusing on short-term return on investment parameters, it should consider the cost of an electricity network that is not future-proof.

We welcome the revision of the TEN-E regulation as an opportunity to make the regulatory framework fit for purpose to support the ongoing fundamental clean energy and digital transformations. The TEN-E regulation sets the infrastructure priorities for the EU via the identification of Projects of Common Interest (PCIs), but it does not consider the Paris Agreement, the Clean Energy Package and EU 2050 climate neutrality strategy - significant political and policy developments that have happened since its adoption.

To read our recommendations in full on how to address the shortcomings of the TEN-E regulation, please download the position above.

Authors

Mikalauskaitė
Toma Mikalauskaitė
Adviser - Energy and Environment

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