Germany leading race to green Europe’s Grid

Eninrac’s findings come in the wake of the European Commission’s (EC) doubling down on grid investment. Energy commissioner Kadri Simson has stated the bloc’s 11 million-kilometre grid needs €584bn worth of upgrades and extension by 2030. The EC was also a key figure behind the region’s first High-Level Electricity Grids Forum in September.

Meanwhile, in March, the EC proposed loosening the regulatory restrictions that have held back investment in grid infrastructure across the bloc.

Like in other regions, grid operators in the EU are only permitted to extend or improve transmission and distribution infrastructure after receiving sign-off by the market regulator, who ensures unreasonable costs are not passed on to consumers. In the EU, this has meant upgrades are approved only after a grid operator receives a connection request by a power generator or storage system. “That’s completely unsustainable in a world that needs to change so fast. It needs to adapt to a market reality where everybody wants electricity,” says Kristian Ruby, secretary general of Eurelectric, the European electricity industry’s trade association.

The EC’s proposed Electricity Market Reform would allow grid operators to make so-called ‘anticipatory investments’, which would allow them to take a proactive approach and commence works before receiving new connection requests. Mr Ruby says this is vital to enabling grids to support the EU’s net-zero targets. “If we don’t get that mandate for anticipatory investments, I have very strong doubts that we can serve the needs for additional grid capacity at the speed it is needed,” he explains.

While the changes have been stalled due to member state disagreement on other aspects of the reforms, Ms Simson said in September that she wants the rules in place by year-end.