Climate Action 2010-2011

Energy and Mitigation
Europe-wide electricity grid
In the coming years, Europe’s first priority for the
renewable energy sector is a pan-European electricity
grid that interconnects countries and offshore wind
farms, bringing vast amounts of green electricity online.
While the offshore wind energy industry is still in its
infancy relative to its onshore sister, EWEA foresees
that the 2020-2030 period will see a significant growth
in offshore wind energy. This requires a substantial shift
from the national structures in place today to a truly
European model.
By 2050 in Europe, wind
power will cover around 50 per
cent of the market for power,
pushing the more expensive and
carbon-price exposed fossil fuel
technologies out of the market.
At the same time, an integrated and fair European
power market is vital for the development of all
renewables. The EU’s recently agreed ‘third liberalisation
package’ is working towards unbundling the production
and transmission assets of all electricity companies but
this policy is yet to be rolled out across Europe. Such
a move would introduce competition and create a level
playing field in the European electricity market. Not
only will the environment reap the benefits with more
green electricity online, but prices for consumers will fall
as wind power pushes more expensive technologies out
of the market thanks to its low marginal cost, Europe’s
energy security will be assured and thousands of jobs
will be created.
Further measures, such as reduced gate-closure times –
allowing wind power producers to give production forecasts
as close to real time as possible, and an intelligently
managed smart grid using demand-side management and
storage capacities, should also be put in place.
Looking ahead to 2050
Last year the G8 agreed to cut carbon emissions by
80 per cent on a global scale by 2050. While that seems
like a long way off, we must take the right decisions
today that will make that target possible. If we are to
take the 80 per cent target seriously, the power sector
cannot emit any CO 2
by that time. The remaining
20 per cent of emissions need to be allocated to other
sectors, principally agriculture and transport – aviation
in particular – where it is technically very difficult to
achieve zero emissions.
To make a 100 per cent cut in carbon emissions from
the power sector possible, and in order to account for
the 20-30 year lifespan of the average power plant, we
must take the simple decision to stop building new
carbon-emitting power stations by 2020. The most
straightforward way to achieve this is by banning
carbon emissions in the power sector from 2020 and
to allow market forces to decide which technology will
take precedence.
By 2050 in Europe, wind power will cover around
50 per cent of the market for power, pushing the
more expensive and carbon-price exposed fossil fuel
technologies out of the market.
However, many stakeholders are pushing for a
combination of renewable energy, nuclear energy and
CCS to achieve a zero-carbon power sector by 2050.
They will argue that we need all technologies to
decarbonise our power sector. This is not correct.
Renewable energy can do it alone with a massive
contribution from onshore and offshore wind energy.
Professor Arthouros Zervos is President of the EWEA
and President and CEO of Greece’s Public Power Corp,
the country’s biggest company. With Zervos at the helm,
Greece hopes to raise renewable energy output and has
plans to generate 20 per cent of its energy from renewable
sources by 2020, up from the current level of three per
cent. Zervos has been committed to wind energy since the
early 1980s and is a world expert in this field. He also
represents the broad spectrum of renewable energies in
his role as chairman of the European Renewable Energy
Council (EREC).
The EWEA is the voice of the wind industry, actively
promoting the utilisation of wind power in Europe and
worldwide. It has over 600 members from nearly 60
countries, including manufacturers with a combined
90 per cent share of the global wind power market,
component suppliers, research institutes, national wind
and renewables associations, developers, contractors,
electricity providers, finance and insurance companies.
This combined strength makes EWEA the world’s largest
and most powerful wind energy network. EWEA coordinates
international policy, communications, research
and analysis and provides various services to support
members’ requirements.
The European Wind Energy Association
Rue d’Arlon 80
1040 Brussels
Belgium
Tel: +32 2 213 1811
Email: ewea@ewea.org
Website: www.ewea.org
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