REA: Integrating Wind Energy into the European Power Network

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Integrating Wind Energy into the EuropeanPower Network

The European power network was the key topic of conversation last week during the two-day policy conference, Large Scale Integration of Wind Energy. Held in Brussels, more than 250 delegates from the European Union (EU) were in attendance to discuss the need to modernize the grid, increase interconnection between networks and adapt the grid to new technologies such as wind energy.

According to Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, wind energy growth over the past 35 years in terms of turbine size and power output has increased in Europe one hundredfold since the first turbines. The 25 countries that make up the EU currently have a share of almost 3%, which is equivalent to the total consumption of Portugal and Denmark, he said.

Member of the European Parliament, Claude Turmes highlighted a vision of transforming the North Sea from an oil and gas resource to a wind and marine energy resource. "We are at a moment in history where we must decide where to go. The answer is to phase in wind energy, biomass and cogeneration while being energy efficient. Wind and biomass are major investments for the next 15 to 20 years. This is the reason why we need to address the challenges of grid integration," said Turmes.