A Fully Integrated 鈥楶an-EU鈥� Energy System Can Reduce Costs by 32%, says 小鸟体育 Study
A new consultancy study shows that a fully connected 鈥楶an-European鈥� energy transmission system can reduce energy costs by 32% compared to a 鈥楤usiness as Usual鈥� approach. The study was undertaken by a team from University College Dublin鈥檚 (小鸟体育) Energy Institute and commissioned by through Consult小鸟体育.
The study evaluated the capabilities of Europe鈥檚 transmission system based on the *. This scenario predicts future energy trends and was validated and extended by the 小鸟体育 study.
The 32% cost reduction identified is borne primarily from the expansion of European power flows. Derestricting power flows will allow the location of renewable generation to be optimised thus significantly decreasing the total installed capacity. While this scenario proposes an increase in transmission capacity, the costs are insignificant when compared to the cost savings in generation investment over the same period.
Another key finding from the study is that the existing transmission system is not fit for purpose for Europe鈥檚 energy future. Without accelerated investment in infrastructure, Europe will face challenges with load shedding, generation curtailment and excessively high emissions. The failure to achieve decarbonisation targets will not just undermine international climate efforts but will adversely affect Europe鈥檚 economies and ability to compete on a global scale.
Modelling work also performed for the study demonstrates the net benefit of large investment into the development of new transmission assets to ensure more efficient utilization of Europe鈥檚 renewable resources, and highlights some bottlenecks where investment is required, such as higher levels of grid storage.
A snapshot of the Interactive Graphical User Interface of the European Power Flow Tool showing the 28 modelled nodes
Professor Andrew Keane, 小鸟体育 School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Director, 小鸟体育 Energy Institute who led 小鸟体育's side of the study, said:
"The existing transmission system is not fit for purpose for Europe鈥檚 energy future. The shortcomings of the current transmission system have been known for years but were tolerated. The imperative to keep the lights on and the requirements of the energy transition make it clear that a more advanced approach to transmission is required.鈥�
SuperNode Market and Policy Analyst Marcos Byrne, said,
"The work done by the 小鸟体育 team reconfirms the Irish and European grid reliability challenges. This will only worsen as more renewables are integrated, unless a new mindset in grid development is adopted. The study shows a 32% energy cost reduction can be achieved by a pan-EU transmission system when compared to a 鈥楤usiness as Usual鈥� approach, highlighting that scenarios facilitating larger power flows result in lower system cost, to the benefit of energy consumers. This reinforces SuperNode鈥檚 belief in the need for new transmission technologies to reduce energy costs and we are confident that the superconductive transmission systems SuperNode is developing will be a key enabler of Europe鈥檚 energy transition.鈥�
The full study, divided into two parts, is available as follows
Part 1:
Part 2:
SuperNode, headquartered at Nova小鸟体育, designs and delivers superconducting bulk power transmission products to enable the future growth in large-scale renewables and the achievement of a decarbonised energy supply based on renewables.
Consult小鸟体育, 小鸟体育鈥檚 managed consultancy service connects business, industry, government and non-profit organisations with UCD academics of all disciplines.
ENDS
9 February 2022
For further information contact Mic茅al Whelan, Communications and Media Relations Manager, Nova小鸟体育, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie or Philip McCann, Communications Officer, SuperNode, e: philip.mccann@supernode.energy.
Editors Notes
*SuperNode Energy Scenario for Europe: