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Press release
Europe needs a better electricity grid for renewables. It is necessary to:
A large-scale integration of renewable energy sources is deemed necessary to reach the European targets of 20 percent renewable energy by 2020 translating into about 35 percent renewable electricity and to comply further with the 2050 targets of cutting global climate pollution by at least 80 percent. However, a considerable expansion of renewable electricity into the European grid can only be achieved by upgrading and expanding transmission capacity. New strategic interconnections will be required to transport renewable electricity from remote locations to consumption centres. The Renewables Grid Initiative demands a new mandate for energy regulators to enable the development of a European grid architecture capable of rapidly and efficiently transmitting renewable energies.
Smart grid development is an essential precondition for substantive renewable energy integration for both decentralised renewables and large scale wind and solar power. At a time of serious economic distress and mounting pressure to address the widespread environmental, economic, and geopolitical consequences of our excessive reliance on fossil fuels, the case for sustainable investments in renewable energy generation and the transmission grid has never been stronger.
The representatives of the four initial partners WWF, Germanwatch, Vattenfall Europe Transmission and Tennet signed a Memorandum of Understanding during the press conference on 3 July 2009 in Berlin.
The Renewables Grid Initiative is
based on scientific work of Antonella Battaglini, Senior Scientist at the
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and European Climate
Forum SuperSmart Grid Process Leader. The RGI was launched by Berlin-based
think-do-tank THEMA1 in January 2009 and is supported by the European Climate
Foundation.
Further information: