Forum I: Options and Constraints for a Renewable Based Economy

Room: A1

(English only, no simultaneous interpretation available / nur in englischer Sprache, keine Simultanübersetzung verfügbar)

In an effort to combat climate change, nuclear threat and reduce dependence from oil imports, Europe is trying to expand its renewable energy sources considerably. Renewables so far are usually discussed together with the topic of restructuring the grid towards a decentralized scale. However, plans for Off-shore-windfarms and solarthermal large scale production sites in southern Europe raise the question of a reasonable mixture of centralized and decentralized electricity production. The question of how to install efficient interconnections between a patchwork of national power grids remains a key challenge. Furthermore wind power especially is problematic because of the changing load and the dependency on exact forecasts.

A supergrid covering all of continental Europe and the North Sea could help to solve the problem by linking national grids by DC high-voltage power lines and providing power where and when needed. The variability of wind would no longer represent a major problem as wind sources will be diverse. A further possibility would be to feed into the grid solar and hydro power thus substantially increasing the amount of electricity produced from renewable sources. By extending the supergrid beyond European borders to North Africa and maybe the Middle East, Europe could satisfy its energy demands from renewable sources alone.

In the forum we discuss the poles of decentralized and centralized production scale in a renewable economy. We address the opportunities and the difficulties for constructing a pan-European super grid, the geopolitical implications and the financial mechanisms which could make it possible within the next decades.

Speakers:

Chris Veal, Manager Offshore Development, Airtricity, Ireland
Wolfgang Kerner, Principal Scientific Officer, DG Research, European Commission
Robert Werner, Member of Managing Board, Greenpeace energy
Richard Barrington, Head of Corporate Affairs and Public Policy,
Sebastian Gallehr, Chief Executive Director, e5 European Business Council for Sustainable Energy

Chair:

Annerose Hörter, Managing Director, 4-K/Kommunikation für Klimaschutz/Kampagnen/Konzepte

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