Towards a European supergrid

Renewable energy requires a flexible European electricity market. Elia is one of the first movers in a smarter electricity market

Europe's 2020 targets for renewable energy present big challenges for the transmission system operators: energy generation by wind generators and solar panels is volatile, which will call for innovative solutions to maintain the balance between generation and consumption. In Belgium, Elia is making the necessary changes to its power grid operation and is collaborating with research institutes, manufacturers, regulators and authorities to prepare for the big shift. One thing is clear: an effective integration of renewable energy into the transmission networks needs to be operated on a European and pan-European level.

Hubert Lemmens has been with Elia from the beginning: he joined the organisation that was put in place in 1999 to prepare for the creation of Elia, in June 2001. As of November 2008 he is Chief Officer Grid Services. When we arrived at his office in Brussels, he immediately got to the point: 'Transmission system operators and electricity distribution operators play an important role because they are centrally located between the producers and the consumers. In general, generation and consumption must be balanced at each moment, and there must be enough capacity to transport all energy from the generators to the consumers without causing congestion on the lines. This is a delicate task, but when the generators are deterministic and when you know how consumers behave, the system is quite predictable. However, from the moment that generation shifts to more renewable energy sources, energy generation becomes volatile and the transmission system operator has to demonstrate a lot more flexibility.'