EURELECTRIC Conference
RENEWABLE ENERGY 2020: Opportunities and Challenges
7-8 May 2009, Hotel
Radisson Royal SAS, Brussels
Concluding Remarks
David Porter OBE - Videoclip
“In the electricity sector everything is linked to
everything else” – ie technology, grid infrastructure and market issues
are all “intricately linked”, David Porter reminded the audience as
he made concluding remarks after the two-day conference. For technologies,
what counts, he said, it is not whether they exist but “how we make use of
them”. For grids, it is clear that better connections and increased scope
for trading are necessary, which will result in benefits much wider than
just boosting renewable energies. As for markets, an “unavoidable tension”
has developed recently. Whereas some years ago the EU lawmaking bodies
placed the emphasis on the development of competition, competitive
solutions, and markets, they have now given the industry “a heavy dose of
prescription” and there is an inherent danger in trying to follow two
different paths at the same time.
Today, renewable energies are already
having an impact on the market and are clearly going to have a lot more
impact in the future. We will need a significant amount of backup power
and peaking power, and the industry must be given sufficient stimuli and
reward for taking steps in this direction. Lastly, Mr Porter pointed out
the large amount of money which will be wasted due to a lack of fully-fledged
trading mechanisms and stressed the need to take advantage of those
cooperation and flexibility mechanisms provided by the new RES Directive.
“Electricity has no purpose unless it is for the customers”, and “we as
electricity suppliers have a huge responsibility to them”, he concluded.
|
