Industry welcomes European Grids Package and Highways Initiative

The two proposals, aimed to enable energy to flow more efficiently across member states and ensure secure and reliable supply with lower energy prices, mark a new overarching and more streamlined approach to infrastructure planning with increased funding support.

See: Brussels unveils European Grids Package to supercharge cross-border energy infrastructure

For SupergridEurope, the package could see an end to fragmented national planning of the electricity highways and the dawn of the supergrid.

Says SupergridEurope Executive Director Christian Kjaer: “The proposal to introduce a long-term European central scenario to guide planning of a European supergrid should be wholeheartedly supported by any European nation concerned about energy security, Russian energy dependence, high electricity prices, a competitive Europe and the heating planet.”

Taco Engelaar, MD of Neara, supports this view, saying that currently a puzzle is being pieced together without a clear grasp of the current picture across the grid.

“This has to change. We need to get precise and fast. Mapping 11.3 million km of grid may sound like a tall order, but filling these data gaps will be vital if we are to optimise spend, justify funding, and ensure not a single euro goes to waste."  

He adds that improved modelling and data sharing also is vital to ensure that pan-EU grid planning truly meets the specific needs of each region and levels the playing field across the bloc.

CurrENT, which has championed non-wires solutions for grid modernisation, highlights the recognition of their important role in the TEN-E proposal how optimising the existing grid will deliver more efficiency.

“An optimisation-first approach will save hundreds of billions of euros for European citizens and increase the resilience, efficiency and overall capabilities of the existing grid,” says Layla Sawyer, Secretary General of CurrENT.

Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, underlined the grid connection guidance as the “highlight” of the package.

“It hits the nail on the head. Member states now have clear instructions on how to design effective rules for connecting grid-friendly projects like hybrid solar + storage projects and remunerate users of flexible connection agreements. This publication will help Europe to make better use of the grid hardware that we have.”

The first utility to respond, Iberdrola, describes the grids package as “a key milestone to promote Europe’s security of supply and competitiveness through electrification”.

Says Ignacio Galán, Executive Chairman of Iberdrola: “I would like to congratulate the Commission for highlighting the sense of urgency and necessity of grid investments and the key tools to accelerate them: prioritising critical projects to reduce bottlenecks, speeding up permitting procedures and incentivising investments through stable regulatory frameworks.”

However, Roberto Zangrandi, former Secretary General of E.DSO and an independent lobbying advisor and executive consultant, while describing the grids package as “an above average pragmatic call for urgency”, strikes a note of caution, saying it remains a gamble.

“For DSOs it implies an expected intense lobbying for better incentives and a real say in network planning. For the equipment manufacturers, it is a gold rush, but one crowded with unchecked costs and permanent supply chain fragility.

“Success hinges on the alchemy blending EU muscle with national reality and incentives with equity.”

Clearly, cooperation at all levels is going to be key to implementation.

As Galán puts it: “Now, it is essential that the Commission and member states work together to implement these measures and remove any obstacles to investments in grids, paying also special attention to LV distribution networks,  which are essential to enable EU industries and citizens to benefit from clean, homegrown and affordable electricity”. 

“At Iberdrola, the largest utility in the European Union, we stand ready to do our part and continue investing and creating jobs in the European Union.”

This is a developing story.