A European-wide renewable electricity grid will help meet climate goals. But there is not only a lack of money, but also a lack of community spirit. Both are in short supply in the EU.
It is not yet clear how the outcome of the European elections will affect the policies of the next EU Commission, particularly the goal of making the EU climate neutral by 2050.
But one thing is certain. Electricity from renewable sources is essential to meet climate goals. And there are In Europe Regions that lend themselves to certain forms the green It is especially suitable for power generation. However, for the entire continent to benefit from this, there is no power grid across Europe that will be able to cope with the new challenges.
“The European electricity infrastructure is already very well developed,” says Kadri Simson, EU Commissioner for Energy since 2019. “However, as part of the energy transition, electricity consumption will double. Therefore, we need to upgrade our grid to be able to supply more electricity from renewable sources,” the Estonian told DW in May. Currently, Europe is only halfway there.
European diversity also in power generation
European countries have different strengths when it comes to green electricity production. Much electricity is generated from wind power in the windy north and the North and Baltic seas, while the sunny south is suitable for it..
“Photovoltaics and wind power complement each other well,” says Harald Bradke, head of the Competence Center for Energy Technology and Energy Systems at the Fraunhofer Institute in Karlsruhe. “Wind power produces a lot of electricity, especially in winter, photovoltaics especially in summer.”
Power storage options also vary geographically. Pumped storage power plants, which act like huge batteries, are particularly useful here. If there is more electricity than is currently needed, it is used to pump water into a reservoir or up a mountain. If there is no electricity, the water is released again and drives turbines that produce electricity.
“Such storage options exist mainly in Scandinavia and Alpine countries, i.e. Austria, Italy and Switzerland,” Bradke told DW. “We can fall back on that when the demand for electricity is greater than we can currently produce.
More efficient and cheaper
The better the European countries are connected, the more efficient the supply of green electricity is. “Electricity would be cheaper because it would come from places where it can be produced particularly cheaply,” says Bradke.
You also don’t have to “run expensive backup power plants that can only run a few hundred hours a year” so often, Bradke continued. Such power plants, which run on, for example, gas, are needed to meet demand at peak times.
In Europe’s existing power grids, this balancing can happen by moving electricity across the continent from where it is particularly cheap to where it is needed. “Everybody benefits from this,” Bradke says.
However, this requires additional cables. The example of Germany shows where the problem is. A lot of electricity is generated from wind power in the north of the country, but it is mainly needed further south where the industry is located.
The problem has been known for years. However, the construction of power lines is slow. “We are seven years behind in expanding our network and should have had 6,000 kilometers more,” says Bradke.
Which delays expansion?
This is not just a matter of money. Many people do not want to live near electric poles. They fear loss of property value or health problems and take the construction to court.
Running power cables underground is significantly more expensive and has a disadvantage for agriculture. Cables heat up and dry out the soil. Where the cables are, farmers are unlikely to be able to grow anything and must be compensated, Bradke said.
Considering these difficulties in just one country, it becomes clear how problematic expanding the network across Europe is.
“If a power line were built in Germany, there would be electricity From France to Poland can flow, then the acceptance among the population will probably be even lower than if it were German electricity for Germany,” said Bradke.
Headaches and ointments
The EU is aware of the difficulties. Especially with cross-border connections, disputes can arise over which country benefits more from the transmission line, said Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson.
Funding such projects with EU funds often solves the problem. The rules for the construction of the Trans-European Networks (TEN-E) have been adapted accordingly to facilitate access to EU funds and speed up expansion.
A study by the European Round Table, an industry lobbying organization, estimates the investment needed in the power grid by 2030 at around €800 billion. At the end of last year, the EU Commission itself estimated almost 600 billion euros in its action plan for the same period.
“Now this seems like a huge investment,” Simson told DW, “but conventional energy sources also come at a price. In 2022 alone, Europeans will spend €600 billion on fossil fuels from third countries.”
where does the money come from?
Part of the costs, of course, can be covered by private investors, says energy expert Bradke, pointing to the groundbreaking ceremony of the power transmission line between Germany and Great Britain, which will be financed exclusively by private funds.
“Major insurance companies and pension funds are very interested in investing in network expansion,” Bradtke said. “The return doesn’t have to be that high, but it has to be long-term and secure.”
However, he notes that money isn’t everything when it comes to expanding the network. Equally important is the correct assessment of real needs. What if less? Heat pumps or will electric vehicles be used as intended? But what if electric cars acted en masse as electricity storage devices and also fed electricity into the grid?
“In these cases, you need less European compensation,” says Bradke. “And then it may be that we have destroyed buildings in the form of high-voltage lines, which are not needed at all.”
Energy Commissioner Simson notes that EU funds for the expansion of power grids come from the “Connecting Europe” program. “I am very committed to strengthening this fund as the next EU multiannual financial framework is negotiated,” said Simson.
The current financial framework, which determines the EU budget, runs until 2027. Everything else will then be in the hands of the incoming EU Commission and the newly elected EU Parliament.