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.