Europe needs to find ‘middle ground between utopia and reality’ on grids

World Energy Congress hears future-proofing electrical grids relies on collaboration and integration  

There’s no bigger truism in energy than the one which says: ‘There’s no transition without transmission’.

And yet the topic of electricity grids, their current shortcomings, bottlenecks and untapped potential, continues to be debated at the highest level, often with an undercurrent of resigned frustration.

At the World Energy Congress in Rotterdam last week, six players on the frontline of global grids came together to offer a reality check on the progress of making the grid fit for purpose… and they all called for greater collaboration of minds and integration of technologies.

Sonya Twohig, Secretary-General, European Network of Transmission System Operator for Electricity (ENTSO-E) said society “is built on a secure and reliable electricity grid” and urged policymakers to “be pragmatic about transition: gas and other carbon-intensive fuels still have a part in the transition”.

She said the future of the grid “is integrated planning: sharing a problem and a vision is what is needed. And we must make these plans available in a visible way to all stakeholders so those plans could be challenged”.

Manon van Beek, chief executive of Dutch TSO TenneT, said it that when discussing and planning grid development, it was vital to “find the middle ground between the utopia and the reality”.

She wanted to see an interconnected on-and-offshore grid in Europe: she believes the North Sea could become a “powerhouse” and TenneT is an advocate for the creation of offshore bidding zones – separate price regions for offshore hubs in Europe.

She stressed the importance of collaboration to deliver this vision: “We will only get there if we all get there. It’s about building an economic climate where we can all grow.”

However, no-one will build very much at all unless permitting red tape across Europe is cut: planning permissions remain the biggest bottleneck to progress on grids.

Van Beek highlighted that a transmission project typically takes ten years to deliver – and eight of those years are planning procedures.

More grids news
eFORT project developing a digital twin to tackle grid security
Ecuador’s Centrosur to deploy Gridspertise smart grid technologies

Stefan Kapferer is chief executive at German TSO 50Hertz and said that while permitting is still a roadblock at a wider European level, some countries such have Germany have taken steps to simplify and in turn accelerate the process. Which, he said, had resulted in the spotlight turning on new bottlenecks: “Investment and funding… and the supply chain”.

He said Germany’s progress on permitting had “opened the floodgates” but warned that “a retiring workforce is a big problem down the line”. This year 50Hertz expects to complete several key German projects, including the offshore grid connection for the Baltic Eagle wind farm, and the Uckermark Line which will be a north-south connection between the Baltic Sea and Berlin.

Kapferer said public acceptance was essential to meet decarbonisation targets, however, policymakers had to be in tune with the financial burden of energy costs that consumers across Europe are facing.

“We need a permanent recalibration of our targets with reality,” he added.

More from the World Energy Congress
The European energy market is a ‘fudge’ says Ørsted’s Olivia Breese
WEC chief Wilkinson redefines and reclaims the phrase ‘energy transition’

Carsten Brügger, vice president of ZTT Group, highlighted that public acceptance was essential to any energy transition, and this required effective communication.

He said the energy sector existed “in a bubble” and that outside of the bubble, “the awareness is not the same”, which leads to the dichotomy of many members of the public being supportive of clean energy yet also being guilty of NIMBY-ism.

Bruno Meyer, secretary-general of GO 15, an association for very large grid operators, said that what keeps his CEOs awake at night is system “reliability and political leadership”.

He warned against political short-sightedness such as retiring well-functioning fossil-fuel plants “too early” before sufficient renewables are reliably online.

He echoed Brügger’s call for greater consumer engagement, stating that the public “need to be convinced” on a number of issues, and also added his voice to those urging greater sector collaboration: “Co-operation is very important, fruitful… and easy to implement”.

All panellists in the session – which was moderated by Enlit Europe content director Florence Coullet – were European, except for Priyantha Wijayatunga, senior director of the Energy Sector Office at the Asian Development Bank.

Prior to joining the bank he was the founding director general of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, and brought an Asian perspective to the debate.

And he offered a blunt yet factual observation: “Transmission has been neglected in this part of the world – that hasn’t happened in my part of the world. That’s something you have to learn from us.”

No-one argued with that statement.

Enlit Media was a media partner of the World Energy Congress. Click here for our dedicated page of exclusive content.