Powering Europe - European Wind Energy Association

DrIVerSaNDbarrIerSfOrNetWOrkUpgraDeS
Upgrading the European electric power network infrastructure
at transmission and distribution level
is perhaps the most fundamental step on the
way to reaching the EU’s mandatory target to meet
20% of our energy from renewable energy sources,
including increasing the share of renewable
electricity from 15% to 34% by 2020. Equally, renewable
energy – together with security of supply,
energy independence and developing the internal
market - has become a significant driver for expanding,
modernising and interconnecting the European
electricity networks. Better interconnected
networks bring significant benefits for dispersed
renewable power by aggregating (bringing together)
dispersed (uncorrelated) generation leading to
continental smoothing, improved predictability and
a higher contribution from wind power capacity to
peak demand.
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The transmission systems in Europe were designed
and built for a very different power mix to the one we
have today and will have tomorrow [Orths&Eriksen,
2009]. In fact, in its early days 100 years ago, electricity
was supplied from distributed generation and
it is only for the last 50 years or less that transmission
systems have been planned for a supply concept
based on ever larger central units. Historically, there
was little European cross-border transmission capacity
between UCTE countries or between the UCTE and
other synchronous zones (Nordel, UK, Ireland).
At that stage, using substantial amounts of renewable
energy, with the exception of large hydro, was not
considered; neither were the concepts of virtual power
plants or of trading electricity on a spot market.
The changing flows in the system demonstrate the
need to expand and reinforce the grids to optimise the
Powering Europe: wind energy and the electricity grid
Photo: Inmagine