WWF, Germanwatch, Vattenfall Europe Transmission and TenneT
promote full grid integration of renewable energies.

Click here to view and download the Memorandum.

Europe needs a better electricity grid for renewables. It is necessary to:
- Fully integrate localised and decentralised renewable supplies
- Fully integrate large-scale offshore wind and concentrated solar power
- Facilitate the possibility to recover investments in both high voltage DC and AC lines
- Deploy innovative and smart grid technologies to foster energy conservation potentials

Click here to download the full version of the press release.

Renewables-Grid-Initiative announces initial partners:
WWF, Germanwatch, Vattenfall Europe Transmission and TenneT

Renewables-Grid-Initiative brings together NGOs and TSOs
 to promote full grid integration of renewable energies.

Date: Friday, 3 July 2009, 1 pm – 2 pm
Venue: Bundespresseamt, Reichstagsufer 14, 10117 Berlin

With:
- Christoph Bals, Political Director, Germanwatch
- Antonella Battaglini, Senior Scientist, PIK / Process Leader for SuperSmartGrid, European Climate Forum
- Wolfgang Neldner, Technical Managing Director, Vattenfall Europe Transmission
- Dr. Stephan Singer, Director of Global Energy Policy, WWF
- Han van Asten, Project Manager Wind Energy, TenneT

Chair: Guido Axmann, Initiator RGI / Managing Director of THEMA1.

More information on: http://www.renewables-grid.eu

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The Renewable Grid Initiative (RGI) promotes the expansion of distributed and bulk renewable energy generation and transmission capacity in Europe. To reach this target, the initiative brings together environmental NGOs and transmission system operators (TSOs). For the first time, WWF, Germanwatch, Vattenfall Europe Transmission and Tennet join forces for a common cause.

A large-scale integration of renewable energy sources is deemed necessary to reach the 2020 targets and to comply with the 2050 targets of cutting emissions by at least 80%. However, a considerable expansion of renewable electricity into the European grid can only be achieved by upgrading and expanding transmission capacity. New strategic interconnections will be required to transport renewable electricity from remote locations to consumption centres. The Renewable Grid Initiative demands a new mandate for energy regulators to enable the development of a European grid architecture capable of rapidly and efficiently transmitting renewable energies.

A grid upgrade is an essential precondition in large-scale renewable energy integration. At a time of serious economic distress and mounting pressure to address the widespread environmental, economic, and geopolitical consequences of our excessive reliance on fossil fuels, the case for sustainable investments in renewable energy generation and the transmission grid has never been stronger.

The Renewable Grid Initiative was launched by Antonella Battaglini, PIK Senior Scientist and ECF Process Leader for SuperSmart Grid and by the Berlin-based think tank THEMA1. The initiative is supported by the European Climate Foundation.

“Expanding Renewable Generating Capacity by 2030. Technology and Policy Challenges”

The purpose of the Round Table will be to investigate options and necessary steps to integrate the North Sea and Atlantic offshore wind and the Southern European and North African solar thermal into the European power grid. We will consider the role of existing hydroelectric systems and the development of smart-grid technologies for demand balancing. Participants will try to identify the necessary steps to achieve a large-scale integration of renewables – in an order of magnitude of 30% or more of total EU firm generating capacity – by 2030.

Click here to see the flyer.

The SuperSmart Grid approach has been presented at the “The United Nations Climate Change Conference” in Poznan in occasion of the side event “The SuperSmart Grid - securing clean energy and prosperity for Europe and beyond”.

Click here to see the flyer.

To advance the in-depth exploration of trans-Mediterranean political and financial cooperation on renewable energy infrastructure development, ECF, IIASA and PIK are convening for the high-level analytic workshop “Linking North Africa’s Renewable Electricity Potential to Europe: Policy Challenges” from 24 – 26 November 2008 hosted at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria.

The agenda can be found here.

The workshop will build upon the existing technical analyses by exploring key policy issues—both immediate and longer term—associated with financing the development of and the subsequent governance of large renewable electricity imports from North Africa.

Examples of the policy issues to be examined include: definition of appropriate financing policies and mechanisms; integration of imported energy into existing and planned infrastructure and policy architectures; assessment of the likely impact on the sustainable development of the North African region; and evaluation of the likely impact on Europe’s energy security and global geopolitical relations.