Page 28 - European Energy Innovation - autumn 2017 publication
P. 28
28 Autumn 2017 European Energy Innovation
ELECTROMOBILITY
A future driven by standards
By Thomas Willson, Policy Officer at ECOS (pictured)
The European transport and energy goals. A modal shift from demand and storing energy in electric
sector is on the cusp of a internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. In addition, demand-side
revolution. Emissions from vehicles would reduce oil imports and flexibility can displace carbon-
transport in Europe have carbon emissions, while improving intensive ‘peak’ power generation and
stubbornly refused to conform to energy efficiency, local air quality and avoid the construction of additional
emission reduction trends seen noise pollution. These environmental network capacity to cope with demand
in other sectors, accounting for a benefits are not without an economic to reduce overall system costs.
quarter of all emissions and much dimension, with large numbers of
of the air pollution in cities, yet signs additional new jobs expected to be EU legislative proposals are poised
are emerging of an approaching created over the next few decades to take this a step closer. The
inflexion point. In the past few months, alongside a shift towards domestically implementation of the Alternative
both government and industry produced goods and services. Electric Fuels Infrastructure Directive and
have presented a series of strong vehicles also offer the potential to the Clean Energy for all Europeans
signals that the end of the internal support the rapid changes underway Package will drive progress towards
combustion engine is approaching. in the power sector. establishing recharging infrastructure
France will ban the sale of all petrol and the integration of electric
and diesel vehicles by 2040, and In recent years, power generation has vehicles in European power systems.
vehicle manufacturers have unveiled become progressively cleaner, more These proposals could support a
production line after production distributed and renewable. Wind
line that centres on one technology: power and solar photovoltaics have
electromobility. formed the greatest part of this trend
and will continue to dominate in the
Electromobility offers an unequalled future. As these sources increase in
solution to address European climate market share, so too will the variability
of the supply-side of the power
system. In parallel, power systems
have become increasingly digitalised
and interconnected with other
sectors, such as the transport sector.
This interconnection has been made
possible by advances in information
and communication technology
and data, which have opened new
possibilities in the active management
of power systems to strengthen the
ability of the demand-side to react to
variability of supply.
Demand-side flexibility is expected
to provide substantial benefits to
European power systems. As a
resource, demand-side flexibility can
improve environmental performance,
cost-effectiveness and reliability of
networks. Demand-side flexibility
can enable larger shares of variable
renewable energy sources to be
integrated in the generational mix; for
instance, by managing periods of solar
photovoltaic over-supply by increasing
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