Abstract
Energy systems integration (ESI) provides a holistic view of the electricity, gas, and heat sectors, which allows the identification and delivery of system solutions that lead to an overall cost efficiency while granting the reliability of the energy system. In this paper, we search for evidence of investments in ESI in the EU to assess whether policymakers are incentivizing its adoption adequately. To do so, we examine how innovation is being fostered in the energy sector in six EU countries by looking at the incentives provided by each country’s regulatory system. We look for evidence on investments in ESI-enabling technologies or ESI projects. We find a variety of approaches towards incentivizing innovation, which range from regulation-driven to government-driven ones. Preferences for different technologies emerge on a per-country basis. Nevertheless, what appears as most striking is the low level of investments throughout the six countries, both for ESI-enabling technologies and ESI projects. Although ESI’s role in the EU’s green transition has been recognized, there is still a need for technological and policy solutions to foster its adoption.
Highlights
In December 2019, the European Commission signed the European Green Deal, where it committed to the goal of becoming the first climate-neutral continent by the year 2050 [1]
After having examined what tools regulators have at their disposal to foster innovation, we look at how EU regulators are addressing the issue
The European Union is moving towards a zero-emission economy, requiring member states to emphasize decarbonization and electrification policies
Summary
In December 2019, the European Commission signed the European Green Deal, where it committed to the goal of becoming the first climate-neutral continent by the year 2050 [1]. Technological progress in the field of generation from renewable energy sources (RES) and distributed generation (DG) has provided an alternative to fossil-fuel based energy generation in the electricity sector Integrating these technologies comes with its own set of problems. The first one is the intermittent nature of these energy sources, which do not allow matching generation to demand since they depend on external factors that cannot be controlled or are hard to predict [3]. This requires installing traditional backup generation capacity to be used when RES generation is low. The second problem is the additional complexity added to the grid by the high number of DG connections and the bilateral flows of energy, which can cause extra network costs for distribution system operators (DSOs) [4]
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