Iberdrola's Elena León Muñoz reveals how to break the grid bottleneck

Europe's grids need an urgent focus on investment and interoperability.

Elena León Muñoz believes "the grid has become the weak link of the energy transition".

But the former global networks chief executive of Iberdrola says the energy sector has had a wake-up call and is now alive to the "colossal challenge" of future-proofing the grid.

In an exclusive interview at Enlit Europe in November 2023, Muñoz says networks were once "the silent client of the energy transition".

But now "we are acknowledging they are at the very core of the energy transition and nothing will happen if it doesn’t go through the electricity grids”.

Grid bottleneck: the financial challenge

In recent years, “investment in renewables has increased a lot, however, grid investments have been stuck - almost flat," says Muñoz.

She cites an International Energy Agency report which stressed that "every euro, pound and dollar invested in renewables should have another invested in grids".

“We're investing more than double in renewables than in grids: that's why we're seeing the bottleneck of the grid system.

“The IEA foresees that if we have around €400 billion or so grid investments each year, we should double by 2030 up to €600 billion and double again by 2050 to reach an average in that decade for €80 billion every year. It's a colossal challenge that we have in front of us.”

It's this delivery of capital expenditure that is reliant on a mindset of "anticipatory investments. We should be investing now in the grids that we need in 10 years."

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Solving the grid bottleneck

However, there's more to breaking the grid bottleneck than investment: there's also technological innovation.

Muñoz says the grid will need "a sound transformation", not least because it is traditionally designed for unidirectional energy flows, and now must adapt to bidirectional flows from both generation to consumers and vice versa.

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To boost grid supply, Muñoz calls for a more meshed and interconnected grid. For this, she underscores the importance of interoperability and standardisation for cross-border grid connections.

“The more common the protocols, the devices and all the equipment are, the better it is for enabling this energy transition.”

However, alongside the urgency for investment and technological innovation. Muñoz is keen to emphasise the economic and social benefits of unlocking the potential of the grid.

Specifically, she highlights sustainability, security of supply and affordability – resulting from the integration of cheaper renewable energy sources.

Moreover, the nature of grids extending to the farthest corners of a region allows for the creation of local industries, employment opportunities and the nurturing of local talent.

“The beauty of the grid is that we are spread out throughout territories – we go up to the very last village or the very last customer in the territory or country.”