Page 22 - European Energy Innovation - summer 2018 publication

22 Summer 2018 European Energy Innovation

EU ENERGY TRANSITION

EU Energy Transition

Harnessing Technological and Systemic challenges, Addressing the Societal and Political ones.

By Adel El Gammal, Secretary General, EERA
The EU has historically been
a driving force in fostering most optimistic experts. For instance, between sectors. Advances in many
international climate action. PV still considered 10 years ago as a energy technologies (e.g. Hydrogen
highly expensive marginal technology and “Power-to-gas” technologies,
reserved for niche applications, has batteries, Carbon Capture and
Storage ..) open up new approaches
After the shortcomings of the 15th seen its cost reduced since then to the global generation, usage and
management of energy within and
Conference Of the Parties (COP 15) in by a factor 8, making it one of the across the various activity sectors
and applications.
2009, EU was instrumental in forging cheapest energy sources in many
Capitalizing on the holistic energy
a global agreement in 2015 at COP 21, countries of the world. And similar expertise of its 17 Joint Research
Programmes, this is in essence the
also known as the “Paris Agreement” achievements were observed in most challenge that EERA addresses today.

other technologies, notably on- and THE “PROSUMER”, A CITIZEN
BEFORE A MARKET AGENT
This agreement, ratified to date by 176 off-shore wind. While significant strides were recently
achieved in understanding smart
of the 197 parties to the Convention, intersectoral linkages between
various forms of energy, very little
charts a new course in the global The resulting massive deployment progress seems to be achieved so
far on how these new approaches to
climate effort with the aim to keep a and unexpected penetration of non- energy will eventually affect the end
consumer.
global temperature rise this century dispatchable low carbon technologies
Indeed, the so-called “societal
well below 2°C above pre-industrial into our energy mix has restated dimension” of the transition is
often understood as ensuring
levels and to pursue efforts to limit the Energy Transition challenge in its acceptability by the “citizen-
consumer”, himself reduced to a
the temperature increase even a way that efforts should now be simple market agent.

further to 1.5°C. mostly directed towards ensuring a In fact the true societal challenge is
about ensuring that the transition
security and stability of the energy is driven along the values and
aspirations of citizens. It is about
Under this Agreement the EU's system, under very high penetrations designing a new framework that
is not only acceptable, but also
“nationally determined contribution” of various non-dispatchable and highly appealing and desirable to EU
citizens of today and tomorrow.
is to achieve at least 40% domestic distributed generation sources.
As such, transitioning to a low
reduction in greenhouse gas carbon regime is about far more than
switching to low carbon technologies.
emissions compared to 1990 levels As research pillar of the SET-Plan, It is about a fundamental rethink
of the relationship that we, as
by 2030. EERA has over the past decade individuals, hold to energy generation,
preservation and consumption.
delivered on its objectives, achieving And policy makers need to fully

The EU Strategic Energy Technology game-changing progress in the

plan (EU SET Plan) was set up in 2007 competitiveness of several low

as the core EC instrument to boost carbon technologies.

low carbon energy research, in the

view of supporting the EU transition Its focus will now increasingly be on

towards a low carbon economy. It addressing the systemic nature of the

is therefore also one of the key EU energy system as a whole.

instrument to meet its international

climate commitments. Allowing high penetration of

intermittent and distributed

THE SYSTEMIC AND CROSS- renewables indeed requires a
SECTORAL NATURE OF THE ENERGY complete rethink on how to manage
TRANSITION the energy system and calls for
The structure of the EU SET Plan still a complete departure from the

reflects its original target, i.e. boost systems design and management

energy research to drive down the concepts that have prevailed up to

cost of low carbon technologies now. It is now essential to understand

towards competitive levels. how energy, in all its forms, is used,

at which place and time, within

Under EU’s visionary impulse, most and across the various activity

renewable energy technologies have sectors, and how energy can best

achieved dramatic progress, many at be generated, converted to different

scales never anticipated, even by the forms, stored and transferred

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