About: power grids
Energy Web Foundation: Blockchain essential for EV growth, community solar
Distributed energy solutions such as solar PV, batteries, and smart controls are getting cheaper by the day and will soon outperform traditional energy sources such as coal, gas, and nuclear power, says Hervé Touati. In any case, Blockchain-type solutions will be needed for the mass deployment of electric vehicles, he warns.
Grid neutrality is a prerequisite for energy storage to flourish
Without energy storage, the EU target for renewable energy cannot be reached. And that can only succeed if the incentives for investment are set correctly and if “ownership unbundling” rules in the EU energy market are strictly enforced, writes Dr. Hans Wolf von Koeller.
Global warming will affect global electricity production
Global warming threatens global electricity production, according to a report released by four organisations on 19 June. As many as 270 power plants could face an increased risk of flooding by 2050. EURACTIV’s partner Le Journal de l’environnement reports.
Where will citizens fit within Europe’s energy transition?
The Clean Energy for All European Package is supposed to turn consumers into 'prosumers', allowing them to participate in energy communities. However, doing that will require a change in perception, starting with national governments, writes Dirk Vansintjan.
Forget the skills gap, in energy cyber security, it’s a chasm
There are frighteningly few cyber security experts with the right skills in the electricity industry, warns Michael John. While there is room for hope in the longer-term, he outlines what can be done now to plug the gaps.
EU to investigate German grid cross-border power capacity curbs
EU antitrust authorities are investigating whether limits placed by German grid operator TenneT on cross border electricity transfers with Denmark breaches EU antitrust rules.
‘Yes, we can’: Franco-Irish research aims to boost green electricity intake
Power grid interconnections and system flexibility are key to integrate bigger shares of renewables. A Franco-Irish research project aims to produce a roadmap to deploy EU power grids that can handle more than 50% of electricity from intermittent renewable sources.
Energy execs: ‘The market for demand-response is only going to grow’
Demand-response services are still fairly new in the electricity market, but their importance is only expected to grow as power grids come under increasing strain from intermittent renewable energy sources. Andreas Flamm and Frauke Thies explain the “fundamental shift” that needs to happen in the policy landscape.
European clocks slowed by Serbia-Kosovo power grid row
European power operators called yesterday (7 March) for an end to a row between Serbia and Kosovo that has sapped the continent's electricity grid and caused electronic clocks to run several minutes late.
EU research looks into large-scale integration of renewables
EDF and EirGrid, the leading French and Irish energy companies, have won €20 million under the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme to develop ways of integrating large amounts of intermittent renewable energy sources into the electricity grid.
EU countries mull scrapping plan to link up power grids
EXCLUSIVE / A flagship objective to link up 15% of Europe’s electricity networks by 2030 could be scrapped altogether from EU legislation as a number of member states resist a command-and-control approach to energy policy, EURACTIV.com has learned.
Grid operators boss: ‘Time for energy utilities to re-invent their model’
Digital technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence bring “total revolution” in the electricity industry, allowing energy communities to proliferate, says Laurent Schmitt. Utilities should not resist the change but embrace it to become “community enablers”, he told EURACTIV in an interview.
A new era: The digitalisation of Europe’s energy system
The clean energy transition requires first and foremost bridging energy and digital economy. The single energy market and the digital single market must go hand-in-hand, argues Dominique Ristori.
Electricity networks: Connecting the dots
The growing electrification of the economy, driven by renewables, requires additional power networks to cope with the expected surge in demand for electric vehicles and consumer-centred services. EURACTIV explores the implications in this Special Report.
ENTSO-E chief: Power grids have to remain ‘neutral’ from commercial activity
As private energy companies increasingly get involved in local electricity distribution networks, European regulators will have to do their job and ensure that grid operators are properly isolated from commercial activity, argues Laurent Schmitt.
Could a blockchain-based electricity network change the energy market?
Blockchain-enabled energy trading could help lower carbon emissions but efficiency and privacy issues must first be overcome, EURACTIV's media partner The Guardian reports.
Energy islands: Symbols of transformation and independence
Malta epitomises the value of islands in leading the transition to cleaner sources of energy, and ultimately in symbolising the potential for energy independence, writes Stuart Reigeluth.
European power grid operators gear up for digital transformation
The next wave of digital innovation – and disruption – in the electricity sector will rely on artificial intelligence and Blockchain technology, according to the new boss of the European power grid operators association, ENTSO-E, who is drafting an IT roadmap for publication later this year.
Digitalisation: Where are the German digital utilities?
In Germany, a lot has been written about two energy megatrends of our time, liberalisation of energy markets and decentralisation of the energy landscape. What we think has been neglected is a third megatrend: digitalisation.
Work begins on French-Italy power interconnector
French power grid operator RTE has started work on a new 190 km power interconnection across the Alps to Italy, in an effort to ease congestion on the existing lines to the largest importer of French electricity.
Energy union aims for elusive 10% power grid interlinkage
European Commission proposals for an Energy Union will include a target for 10% interconnection of electricity grids across borders. But the objective, initially decided in 2002, has remained elusive because of entrenched national interests.
Europe’s renewable energy deployment ‘sub-optimal’, report says
Europe could have saved itself $100 billion (€86bn) by installing solar power panels in sunnier countries and wind turbines in windier places, the World Economic Forum's "Future of Electricity" platform said in a report released on Tuesday (20 January).
Electricity linkage target dropped ahead of EU summit
EXCLUSIVE: EU leaders will not agree on 2030 targets for exchanging energy through electricity interconnectors, because of a long-running row between Spain, Portugal and France, according to documents obtained by EURACTIV.