RGI News May 2013
RGI News May 2013 April showers bring May flowers – spring 2013 has brought a variety of new activities to the Renewables-Grid-Initiative. In a new format, the so-called ‘Learning Groups’ RGI will bring together stakeholders from different backgrounds to discuss topics on a more intense level. In 2013, RGI will initiate groups on three themes: Grid Expansion in Marine Environments, Dimensions of the Grid and Underground Cables. In May 2012, the RGI Secretariat was busy writing a proposal for EU funding under the Intelligent Energy Europe programme. Almost one year later, in April 2013, the project BESTGRID was started with eight partners from NGOs, TSOs and academia. RGI is delighted to lead this exciting project during the next 2.5 years. We hope you will enjoy reading our RGI news including information about: 1. RGI activities • Workshop in Norway: preliminary agenda online • Learning Groups: Grid Expansion in Marine Environments, Dimensions of the Grid, Underground Cables • BESTGRID project funded by IEE • RGI on Twitter • Retrospect: RGI at the CeBIT • Publications: RGI articles in RELP and Paneuro • New faces at the RGI Secretariat 2. Discussing the electricity grid • European Guidelines on Energy Infrastructure came into force on May 15th • Commission develops Guidance on Streamlining Environmental Assessments • Gridspectives and GRID EXPO at Stiftung Mercator 3. Event announcements • Local Renewables 2013 • European Power Grid and Storage Development Conference
1. RGI activities Workshop in Norway: preliminary agenda online Grids to connect offshore wind farms and interconnectors to link national energy markets with one other are currently being planned or implemented in a variety of European countries. Nonetheless experience of project planners, authorities, governments and NGOs is low in comparison to onshore planning procedures. Questions and uncertainties about the what, when and how of the offshore grid infrastructure still need to be answered. The upcoming RGI Offshore Workshop "Stakeholders' perspectives on offshore grids and the marine environment" on June 27th and 28th in Bergen, Norway will therefore address the following topics: • The question of need: What do we need by when? How are decisions being made given what is required? • Current planning status: Where do we stand? What is being built or planned? • Marine environment: What are the impacts of construction and operation? How can they be assessed and mitigated? How can cumulative impacts be considered?
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RGI News May 2013 •
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Public acceptability: How do we ensure public acceptability of offshore grids, especially at landing points? Lessons learned: What can we learn from Statnett's project in the Hardanger fjord? How can we ensure stakeholder engagement during offshore projects?
Please visit our website for more information, the preliminary agenda and registration: http://renewables-grid.eu/events/rgi-offshore-workshop.html
Learning Groups: Grid Expansion in Marine Environments, Dimensions of the Grid, Underground Cables As one means to implement the principles set out in the European Grid Declaration, the Renewables-Grid-Initiative will initiate a new format – the so-called ‘Learning Groups’. Learning Groups will consist of both RGI’s TSO representatives and NGO partners as well as handpicked stakeholders from different backgrounds. They will serve the triple-purpose of: • Learning from each other and sharing experiences, thus helping in disseminating best practices • Identifying open questions that require attention and • Developing new approaches and solutions that can be applied to grid development projects Grid Expansion in Marine Environments Harnessing offshore renewable energy resources and building offshore grid infrastructure and interconnectors are essential to limit the impacts of climate change. They will significantly contribute to future energy security and economic development. At the same time, grid expansion must be compatible with the need to protect and enhance the marine environment and biodiversity. Avoiding unnecessary and/or negative economic, environmental and social impacts will be important to secure government, stakeholder and public support. The Learning Group will look into possible measures and activities that support the required coordination of different stakeholders and feed into an environmentally sound development of marine environments. Dimensions of the Grid - towards improved and transparent long-term grid planning Grid planning has traditionally been carried out within each Member State’s national borders and has been executed by either the utilities (pre-unbundling) or as seen today, by each country’s TSO. With growing shares of renewable generation, the architecture of grid planning will require new approaches across countries and regions as the need for cross-border connectivity and trading, and the unbundling of the power sector increases. These new approaches need to be designed and implemented in a participatory and transparent manner to prevent continuous conflict over the best way ahead. An alignment of interests and responsibilities among a broad stakeholder group should be accomplished. Grids that allow for the achievement of European 2050 objectives have to be built now. As a consequence, substantial work is needed to move towards grid planning processes that reflect Europe’s long-term scenarios and objectives. The Learning Group aims to address and contribute to finding solutions to the challenges of planning “the grid of the future”. Underground cables The vast majority of extra high voltage transmission is built in the form of overhead lines. At the same time, cables have strong promoters. Because overhead lines have been the chosen solution in the vast majority of cases for highest voltage transmission, there is little practical experience with cables.
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RGI News May 2013
However, fully understanding the impact of cabling is a fundamental step in making informed choices and to minimise or avoid impacts altogether. The Learning Group on Cabling intends to systematically pull together all available experience on cables and their impact on the natural environment. BESTGRID project funded by IEE The Renewables-Grid-Initiative is pleased to announce the start of the project BESTGRID. Four pilot projects for renewables-grid expansion will be developed and implemented within the coming 30 months. New approaches to increase public acceptance and to speed up permitting procedures, while respecting or surpassing standards for environmental protection, will be tested. The BESTGRID consortium brings together grid operators (National Grid, Elia, TenneT, 50Hertz and Terna) and non-governmental organisations (BirdLife Europe, Germanwatch) from across Europe to cooperate in designing, implementing and evaluating the pilot projects in Germany, Belgium and the UK. The renowned International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) will accompany the project and monitor and evaluate the success of the tested approaches. The BESTGRID project will disseminate the lessons learned widely across Europe and establish an intensive exchange of best practices. Moreover, two guidebooks will be produced and disseminated that focus on “Participation and Transparency” and “Protecting the Environment and Engaging Environmental Stakeholders” in grid development projects.
RGI on Twitter The RGI Secretariat has started a twitter account. Follow Theresa (www.twitter.com/Theresa_RGI) if you want to be up-to-date on current RGI activities, political developments concerning electricity grids in the EU and beyond, and further information sources.
Retrospect: RGI at the Cebit As announced in our last newsletter, RGI and the GRID EXPO were represented with a booth at this year’s CeBIT in Hannover, Germany, the no. 1 show in the digital world. We were very pleased to welcome German Environment Minister Peter Altmeier and present him different electricity grid pylon models, up to 3 metres in height. For more information about the GRID EXPO and current activities, visit www.gridexpo.eu
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RGI News May 2013
Publications: RGI article in RELP The first issue of RELP (A Journal of Renewable Energy Law and Policy) in 2013, to be published soon, will feature an article from Antonella Battaglini and Theresa Schneider. The article deals with efficiency and public acceptance of European grid expansion projects and analyses the recently adopted Guidelines on Energy Infrastructure. More information: http://www.lexxion.de/de/zeitschriften/fachzeitschriften-englisch/relp.html New faces at the RGI Secretariat In order to fulfil the new tasks that have come up, the RGI Secretariat has employed three new staff members in May. Loukianos Zavolas, whose position is supported by SEFEP (Smart Energy for Europe Platform), is responsible for the organisation of the Learning Groups “Dimensions of the Grid”and “Underground Cables”. He holds an MSc in Sustainable Energy Systems and gained professional experience in energy policy and the renewables sector. Andreas Reinhardt will assist with the project management of the Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) project BESTGRID. He holds an MSc in Science, Technology, Medicine and Society and has previously worked for the EACI, the EU agency responsible for the implementation of the IEE programme. Amelia will support the whole team as student assistant. She is currently doing a master in intercultural communications at the European University Viadrina and the Adam Miczkiewicz University. From left to right: Loukianos Zavolas, Andreas Reinhardt, and Amelia Strzepek:
2. Discussing the electricity grid European Guidelines on Energy Infrastructure came into force on May 15th The regulation on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure, proposed by the European Commission in fall 2011, came into force on May 15th 2013. The first list of Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) will be adopted by September 30th 2013. RGI highly welcomes the enhancements in transparency and public participation in grid development projects that the new regulation will ensure. We will closely follow the procedure of establishing the list of PCIs and hope that the implementation allows for genuine participation of important stakeholders, such as environmental NGOs. Commission develops Guidance on Streamlining Environmental Assessments On the basis of the aforementioned guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure, the European Commission has started working on a guidance document on streamlining environmental assessment procedures for energy infrastructure ‘Projects of Common Interest’ ([EU] No 347/2013, Art. 6,4). On May 3rd, a stakeholder workshop was held in Brussels where we presented our experiences gained during the best practice project and the development of the European Grid Declaration. RGI’s position paper about the document will be published on our website next week.
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RGI News May 2013 GRID EXPO 2013 – Beauty of Power in Berlin The energy transition affects the whole society. It will implicate processes of change in many different sectors, including aesthetics and design. Many actors have started to think about the “new look” of energy, e.g. when designing new electricity pylons. Some of the most interesting designs are shown at the exhibition “GRID EXPO - Beauty of Power” at Projektzentrum Berlin of the Stiftung Mercator. You can visit the exhibition every Tuesday (10am 5.30pm) until the end of the year. More information on: www.gridexpo.eu
3. Event announcements Local Renewables Freiburg 2013 Conference : Shaping your solar city – Practical solutions from planning to implementation October 24-25th 2013, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany The focus of Local Renewables 2013 (October 24-25th 2013 - Freiburg, Germany) will be how to shape a solar city and optimise local renewable energy potentials. The conference will examine the collaboration with local stakeholders, the value of technological innovations and how to identify sources to finance local action. This is a valuable opportunity for policymakers, representatives from European institutions, energy service providers and experts to share views and knowledge. More information can be found on the Conference’s official website: www.local-renewables-conference.org/freiburg2013
Making the move to green power work
The European Power Grid and Storage Development 2013 conference will take place in Hamburg on September 16th and 17th where the challenges facing grid stability, security of supply, renewables integration, intermittency and volatility will be discussed. Prospects for the full spectrum of storage solutions and technologies will also be examined. Providing an overview of the situation • Renewable growth, stressed grids • Antonella Battaglini, Renewables-Grid-Initiative; Catharina Sikow-Magny, European Commission; Annegret Groebel, Federal Network Agency, Germany Addressing the challenges • Intermittency, volatility, grid flexibility • Jacques Vandermeiren, ELIA; Jean Verseille, RTE; Dr. Peter Hoffmann, TenneT
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RGI News May 2013 Showcasing the solutions • Outlook for storage and smart technologies in Europe • Bernard Delpech, EDF; Dr. Oliver Weinmann, Vattenfall Europe Innovation; Dr. Graham Cooley, Chief Executive Officer, ITM Power For more information on the event, discounts and conference registration, please visit: http://www.platts.com/ConferenceDetail/2013/pc352/index
Contact Theresa Schneider, Theresa@renewables-grid.eu
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