Pan-European power grid

The European Union's targets to increase the share of renewable energy to 20% by 2020, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% below 1990 levels by 2050, pose a major challenge to the power grid throughout Europe. The existing electricity grid is mostly based on technology which was developed more than 30 years ago, for one-way energy flows from large production plants to the consumer.

Unlike the conventional power plants, which enable full control of the production of energy, the sources of renewable energy have natural variability, particularly wind and solar energy, but also hydraulic energy, which are all dependent upon weather conditions. Additionally, there is also a major paradigm shift as we move from a highly centralized network to decentralized production, where the consumption points can also inject electricity into the power grid, through micro and mini-production of electricity.

To accommodate the massive deployment of renewable and decentralized energy sources, a stronger and smarter electricity grid is required, with significant benefits deriving from the creation of a single interconnected grid throughout Europe in terms of energy security and affordably.

On the supply side, the wide geographic integration cancels-out part of the local variability of renewable energy sources and reduces the need and level of curtailment of the conventional power plants to avoid temporary surplus in electricity production. “The increase in transmission capacity and crossborder coordination of market operations will also allow sharing of reserve capacity between regions reducing total reserve requirements by approximately 40%, avoiding significant redundant investment.” (ROADMAP 2050 - Practical guide to a prosperous, low carbon Europe). On the demand-side, the demand curves are also softened.

Changes in the European electrical network infrastructure and operation are critical to the delivery of the decarbonization of the power sector and of the economy.

Considering the importance of the electricity networks to a low-carbon Europe, the Strategic Energy Technology Plan includes the European Electricity Grid Initiative (EEGI) in coordination and cooperation with other initiatives, namely photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, and wind energy.

The EEGI is based on a 9-year European research program for development and demonstration, with focus on system innovation rather than on technology innovation. It addresses the challenge of integrating new technologies under real life working conditions, including new intermittent renewable resources at the different voltage levels, recharging infrastructure for electric vehicles and active demand from end users. The initiative includes the smart grid model (functionalities necessary), transmission, distribution and the coordination of the different networks.

Besides contributing to the future coordinated planning and operation of the European Electricity Network, EEGI will also contribute to the study of new market rules.

Sources:

- ROADMAP 2050 - Practical guide to a prosperous, low carbon Europe, European Climate Foundation;

- The European Electricity Grid Initiative (EEGI) Roadmap 2010-18 and Implementation Plan 2010-12

Solar Thermal Electricity, a.k.a. Concentrated Solar Power

Solar thermal power has a significant advantage over other renewable sectors: it mimics more accurately the electricity demand curve. There is a large potential to seize this energy resource in Southern Europe and the Union’s neighbour countries of the Mediterranean. The installed capacity in Europe is expected to reach 2 GW by 2012 and around 30 GW by 2020. A much larger expression could be achieved in the long-term by involving the North Africa countries.

According to ESTELA, the European Solar Thermal Electricity Association, the European Industry is the world leader in this sector. Spain in particular has been having a leading role, building on encouraging feed-in tariffs established by the Government. The number of Spanish plants which are operating or under construction is presented in the following table.

Table 1 - Concentrated Solar Power plants in Spain

Authorized plants in Spain	Number of plants	MW
Operating or in commissioning in 2009	8	332
Completion 2010	11	548
Completion 2011	11	516
Completion 2012	11	500
Completion 2013	15	443
Total 2010-2013	48	2007

The European Commission, in its Technology Roadmap for the period 2010-2020, established several objectives for Solar Thermal Electricity, also known as Concentrated Solar Power. The main objective set forward is the reduction of the generation, operation and maintenance costs, through measures such as the improvement of the system conversion efficiency, the improvement of the reliability and efficiency of individual components, and the development of advanced plant monitoring and control technologies.

The second most important objective is to develop and improve thermal energy storage, as well as hybridization of the power plants with natural gas or even biomass, in an effort to increase the operational flexibility and energy dispachability of Concentrated Solar Power.

Environmental objectives have also been set. The need to reduce the water-use footprint associated with the cooling water consumption has also been specifically included. Optimization of land use through new and innovative designs would also contribute to reduce the ecological footprint.

In this context, ESTELA developed the Implementation Plan for 2010-2013 of the Solar Thermal Electricity European Industrial Initiative, included in the framework of the SET-Plan, intended to enhance innovation and contribute to increase the competitiveness of the sector. This implementation plan builds on the idea of coupling innovation and commercial operation.

Source: Solar Thermal Electricity European Industrial Initiative Implementation Plan 2010-2013, May 2012

Solar energy – European photovoltaic industry initiative

Continuing the overview on the Industry Initiatives included in the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan), this post focuses on the use of solar energy through photovoltaic  technology for the production of electricity, and most particularly on the 2010-2012 implementation plan for the Solar Industry Initiative.

The implementation plan describes the immediate actions needed to achieve the goals set forward for 2020 in the European Commission's Photovoltaic Roadmap, namely the R&D steps required to enable rapid large-scale deployment of photovoltaics at minimum cost and maximum benefit for society.

The implementation plan identifies two major initiatives to enable the large-scale deployment of photovoltaics:

• Reducing photovoltaic electricity generation costs through technology progress, experience and economies of scale;
• Integrating photovoltaic electricity into the European Grid.

The R&D actions for Cost Reduction will focus on improving manufacturability, materials development, and enhancing performance. R&D will also be conducted to advance grid integration, large-scale grid integration analysis, and solar resources prediction and monitoring. The R&D actions will be followed by demonstration projects to enable the replication and large scale implementation of the results. These projects will include the large integration of PV in urban areas, grid integration of distributed photovoltaic power generation, and last scale demonstration of new concepts and technologies.

Besides the efforts of the photovoltaic sector, the success of the Solar Energy Industry Initiative will also depend on the Electricity Grid Initiative, as well as on the development of other technologies, such as electricity storage, electrical vehicles, demand side management and smart grids.

Although not included in the European Industrial Initiative, the need for an education and training program has been pointed as a requirement to avoid a shortage of qualified professionals, such as project engineers and installers, and to keep the leadership of the European industry. The importance of awareness and communication activities has also been recognized for the dissemination of the benefits of photovoltaics near the general public and important stakeholders, including policy-makers, utilities, architects, and the construction sector. 

Source: Solar Energy Industry Initiative 2010-2012 implementation plan.