Commissioner calls for public-private partnerships to address energy challenges
EU Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik has spoken of the need for a 'portfolio approach' to ensuring energy supply in Europe, covering several options at all stages of the energy chain. The Commissioner spoke at a meeting of the SmartGrids Technology Platform, which brings together representatives from industry, utilities, transmission and distribution system operators, research centres and academia. The platform is intended to increase the efficiency, safety and reliability of European electricity transmission and distribution systems while removing obstacles to the large-scale integration of distributed and renewable energy sources. This is in line with the proposed priority of 'Smart Energy Networks' for the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). The portfolio approach begins with FP7, for which the Commission identified a number of research priorities, 'from the development of fusion to renewable energies - including hydrogen and fuel cells, clean coal and carbon capture and sequestration, advanced nuclear fission, energy efficiency, and, of course, smart energy networks,' said Mr Potocnik. Although Europe has been active in these fields for some time, investment has been insufficient and often fragmented. Future energy challenges require increased and better focused efforts and long term commitment, said the Commissioner. The Commission thus believes that the EU would benefit from a 'strategic energy technology plan', based on the experiences of the number of energy Technology Platforms. In some areas, actors should form public-private partnerships in order to address specific issues where critical mass is required. These partnerships would 'lead to the development of 'leading markets' for innovation,' said Mr Potocnik. He cited the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) as an example of a concerted EU-international action to achieve a specific energy goal. 'The challenge ahead of us is a daunting one,' said the Commissioner, pointing to the increasing demand for oil and gas, market volatility and high prices. Hydrocarbon reserves are running out, making Europe more dependent on imports, and climate change is accelerating. 'These challenges are common to all countries of Europe. They require a common response: a new and more efficient energy system, based on effective collaboration between producers and consumers, and a quantum leap in the production of renewable and low carbon energy,' said Mr Potocnik. Creating 'smart' electricity networks will help by making the current system compatible with new energy resources and carriers in development - a barrier to the widespread use of renewable energies. Smart networks will enable a better balance between demand and supply, and encourage the development of new services and innovative markets. 'In the near future, I hope that the platform will help to identify R&D [research and development] priorities, to maintain coherence between European and national programmes, and, most importantly, reinforce R&D investment in this area,' said the Commissioner.