Up-scaled grid tech key for net zero states currENT

European association for grid tech companies, currENT, has highlighted the crucial need to avoid ‘death by pilot’, incentivising the scale-up of innovative grid technologies to ensure the grid of the future can accommodate net zero.

According to the association, which released a set of recommendations for grid planning, it is a “universally agreed” notion that grid development has been a core obstacle in the way of the continent’s energy transition.

Less obtrusive and environmentally friendly transmission technology, they state, with increased transfer capacity can unlock transmission backlog.

And for a decarbonised energy system to materialise, currENT urges that Europe must start planning, demonstrating, and deploying innovative grid enhancing technologies and advanced power cable technology.

For this grid of the future to be successfully and timeously implemented, the association makes the following recommendations:

1. Avoid ‘death by pilot’

currENT advises for guidance to be issued to national regulatory authorities (NRAs) on how to incentivise meaningful mass deployment of commercially available grid-enhancing technologies.

According to the association, there needs to be incentives to scale-up innovative grid technologies much more quickly. Pilot deployments without a process and timeline to be in mainstream use en masse will remain a marginal technology, regardless of whether they are economically, technically, and environmentally superior.

2. Measure and set specific targets for adding grid capacity

currENT adds how Europe needs to measure how fast grid capacity is being added on an annual basis, and if this is keeping pace with decarbonisation and energy independence targets.

SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals, they state, are needed for grid technologies and Europe needs to take conservatism out of planning grids.

Have you read:
State of the EU: Brussels launches clean tech competitive initiatives
Consultancy consortium assigned for 500km German grid expansion

3. A significant amount of innovation funding needs to go toward electricity grids.

According to the recommendations, since 2020, only 18% of the total funding of €3.1 billion spent under the EU ETS Innovation Fund has gone to renewables and storage, with 8% to other technologies. The EU’s flagship innovation vehicle must therefore become more focused on innovative grid technologies.

4. Don’t turn sandboxes into sand traps

The association states how regulatory and technical sandboxes will be needed to ensure that safe and reliable technology can be proven as proposed by the Commission’s Net Zero Industry Act.

Specifically for Innovative Grid Technologies, a mechanism is needed to secure positive engagement from TSOs and DSOs.

5. Provide a guarantee for the perceived risk of performance of innovative technologies

According to currENT, while the risk of inadequate performance of mature innovative technologies is minimal, this is still perceived by some to be a risk of stranding assets.

If the EIB can provide guarantees for the duration of the payback period of these innovative technologies (typically much faster than conventional technology), this would mitigate any due diligence concerns in implementing newer grid technologies by stakeholders.

They add how ringfencing specific funds for innovative grid technologies would also be a significant support.

This marks the latest announcements coming from European associations in the energy sector marking the grid as a key area of concern.

Earlier this year in September saw similar announcements and calls to action alongside strategic agenda’s coming from the likes of E.DSO (the European DSO association), Eurelectric, which represents the interests of the electric industry, and ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity.