Confronted with multiple challenges, Europe needs to rise to the occasion. The impact of the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, pressures on supply chains and a climate crisis require swift and determined action from Europe’s leaders.
The latest report by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is clear: the time for action is now. Limiting global warming will require major transitions in the energy sector. This will involve a substantial reduction in fossil fuel use, widespread electrification, improved energy efficiency, and use of alternative fuels (such as hydrogen). In an earlier report, the IPCC issued a dire warning “Human-induced climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and is affecting the lives of billions of people around the world.” It is also an urgent call for accelerated action and rapid, deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
The EU is committed to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. So, how can Europe become climate-neutral, while ensuring a secure and affordable supply of electricity?
Future-proofing Europe’s electricity networks is essential for a successful energy transition. This requires investments. This is the consistent message T&D Europe communicates through its ongoing engagement in the relevant policy and regulatory debates, and in dialogue of leaders of the industry with EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson.
For the EU to achieve climate-neutrality, grid investments are needed in replacing ageing equipment with, for example, new transformers and switchgear, increasing hosting capacity through asset monitoring and flexibility, automation, enabling remote control for secondary substations, digitalisation in the form of grid planning and operations software, connected devices, sensors, IoT and cloud technology and extending networks by building new transmission and distribution lines, and interconnectors.
T&D Europe representatives have a clear view of how we can make this happen. We need:
- Faster deployment of available network technologies
- Supportive remuneration schemes for grid investments
- A strong, consistent political support for more, focused grid investments to support Europe’s climate ambitions.
Given the importance of grid technology, we have asked some of the leaders in the grid technology industry for their insights to some of the key questions Europe and the world is addressing. Over the coming weeks we will share with you a series of short videos, highlighting how our industry sees the way forward.
Let’s hear what our industry leaders have to say!
Question 1: What do you see as the greatest opportunity for making Europe climate-neutral by 2050?
- Hear from Frederic Godemel, Executive Vice-President, Power Systems and Services, at Schneider Electric, here.
- Hear from Jorge Gonzalez, CEO at Ormazabal, here.
- Hear from Yann Fromont, President of T&D Europe and Vice-President of Standardisation and Industrial Affairs, Power Systems & Services at Schneider Electric, here.
- Hear from Vera Silva, Vice-President President of T&D Europe and Chief Technology Officer at GE Grid Solutions, here.
Question 2: What is the role of transmission and distribution equipment in addressing the risk of climate change?
- Hear from Frederic Godemel, Executive Vice-President, Power Systems and Services, at Schneider Electric, here.
- Hear from Jorge Gonzalez, CEO at Ormazabal, here.
- Hear from Stephan May, CEO of Electrification and Automation at Siemens here.
Question 3: What is one of the main hurdles for building resilient, modern, flexible and affordable electricity networks?
- Hear from Jochen Kreusel, T&D Europe Deputy President and Global Head of Market Innovation at Hitachi Energy, here.
- Hear from Guillermo Amann, Senior Advisor to the President at Ormazabal, here.
- Hear from Vera Silva, Vice-President President of T&D Europe and Chief Technology Officer at GE Grid Solutions, here.
Question 5: What can the EU do to help the T&D industry to contribute to climate-neutrality by 2050?
- Hear from Andreas Luxa, former Vice-President President of T&D Europe here.
Question 6: What is the main role for T&D Europe?
- Hear from Guillermo Amann, T&D Europe Vice-President and Senior Advisor at Ormazabal, here.
- Hear from Jochen Kresuel, T&D Europe Deputy President and Global Head of Market Innovation at Hitachi Energy, here.
- Hear from Andreas Luxa, former Vice-President of T&D Europe here.
Watch all videos
