Novel methodologies and plans for Europe's future secure and sustainable electricity infrastructure
The rapid expansion of renewable electricity sources and demand-side management technologies in Europe is going to change the way transmission systems are designed and operated. Electricity should be transported over longer distances, across national borders, in order to connect renewable electricity production located far from the main European consumption areas. Active demand response services might also be controlled over large geographical areas, therefore involving many stakeholders under different regulatory regimes. The EU-funded E-HIGHWAY2050 (Modular development plan of the pan-European transmission system 2050) project set out to address this requirement for the development of a pan-European transmission network in line with the EU's 2020 energy goals. Project partners devised methodologies centred on five European power system scenarios. These methodologies serve as a basis for all future long-term network planning while meeting low-carbon economy targets for 2050. Relying on enhanced optimisation and advanced simulation tools, the scenario-based planning methodology takes into account the whole electricity supply chain. This includes all relevant technological, economic, and regulatory or socio-political dimensions that are required to develop efficient and sustainable grid architecture options that will meet future energy supply requirements. Scenarios on generation, storage capacities and consumption patterns were tackled with the assistance of transmission system operators, research institutes, universities, industry associations and non-governmental organisations. Results fed into a modular development plan that presents the architectural possibilities of the electricity transmission network by 2050. It highlights the electricity generation, demand and transmission technologies expected from 2020 on and for each successive decade. In addition, the plan specifies the necessary grid reinforcements for 2040 and 2050, provides a cost-benefit analysis for the grid, and a synthesis of the generation, demand and grid from today to 2050 for 43 countries. E-HIGHWAY2050 supported the planning of a pan-European transmission network, helping to ensure the reliable delivery of renewable electricity and EU-wide market integration.
Keywords
Electricity, power transmission, transmission systems, E-HIGHWAY2050, modular development plan
