Activity Report 2012 - Eurelectric

in brief
Sustainable energy for EU
islands – a EURELECTRIC report
EURELECTRIC’s report on sustainable
energy devel opment
on islands, published in June,
provides insights into the status
quo of power supply and demand
on EU islands, looks into the
regulatory framework, highlights
best practice examples and presents solutions towards
sustainable island energy systems. The report is based
on the expertise of EURELECTRIC’s network of Island
System Managers (nEIS) and was the topic of discussion at
EURELECTRIC workshops in Malta and Brussels this year.
286 islands are located within the EU territory. Their
electricity demand varies depending on their size,
economic structure, population and location. Although
their location usually does not make diesel an obvious
fuel for power generation, many nevertheless opt for this
solution. While this is typical for isolated systems, it is
neither sustainable, nor does an over-reliance on diesel
contribute to security of supply. In this, EU islands are
representative of the difficulties faced by islands and
small isolated communities worldwide.
In short, there is a clear need for a step change. Island
power companies are already trying to demonstrate
alternatives and forward-looking solutions. But in order
to do so efficiently and on the right scale, they need
political support, reasonable and proportionate
regulation, and a favourable investment climate.
Awareness is fortunately rising, not only through
EURELECTRIC’s activities in Europe, but also through the
International Renewables Energy Agency IREnA, which
has made the topic a priority for 2012.
18 eurelectric activity report 2012
Infrastructure: a call for
a modern, interconnected
European power grid
Energy infrastructure is the backbone of the European
power system. EURELECTRIC is pushing for a rapid,
cost-efficient modernisation and expansion of
Europe’s grids, to ensure sufficient interconnection
across Europe and support the creation of an internal
European energy market.
After an intense year of negotiation, the European
Parliament and the Council sealed a deal on the
Regulation on Trans-European Energy Infrastructure.
EURELECTRIC supports a regulation which helps
overcome current inadequacies of infrastructure
planning and investment.
We once again teamed up with other associations and
stakeholders to make the case for maintaining the
budget proposed for the Connecting Europe Facility
(CEF), the Commission’s proposed tool for infrastructure
support. An adequately funded CEF is vital
if Europe is to live up to the enormous challenge of
re-inventing its energy networks by making them more
interconnected, smarter, and more efficient.