“Policy makers have to put the grid at the forefront of all thinking”

Oct. 22, 2012 - PRLog -- Lambeth, London, United Kingdom -- If Europe is to reach its ambitious 2020 renewable energy target, the need to develop new and improve existing transmission capacity is key- with ENTSO-E announcing earlier this year that €104billion in new and upgraded power lines will be required.

A European Supergrid is increasingly being viewed as the most viable solution for the integration of large amounts of intermittent renewable power. In a recent interview Eddie O’Connor, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mainstream Renewable Power, indicated “It’s the only solution I can think of”, adding “Policy makers have to put the grid at the forefront of all thinking”.

Mr. O’Connor went on to discuss the way in which the supergrid could be realized: “I see two approaches, one evolutionary and the other revolutionary. The evolutionary approach is proposed by ENTSO-E and is based almost 100% on existing onshore grids. The revolutionary Supergrid proposal envisages the construction of an offshore DC grid constructed around supernodes which will link up with the onshore grids. All investments made to 2020 should have the Supergrid in mind”.

The Supergrid would connect offshore wind from the North Sea and solar power from north Africa, creating many policy and finance complexities. Daniel Wong, Head of European Infrastructure and Utilities Team, Macquarie Capital recently stated that “A clear and transparent regulatory regime has proven to attract competitive financing”.

Dima Rifai, Managing Partner, Paradigm Change discussed the current policy challenges: “In most European countries there are completely different market codes and investment approaches for offshore grids, interconnectors and terrestrial lines. Whereas this might be acceptable for now, we believe that going forward distinguishing between these type of assets and the rules that govern their operation, investment and re-numeration will create confusion, complexity and act as an unnecessary barrier for new investors.”

Hear more from Mainstream Renewable Power Macquarie Bank and Paradigm Change Capital Partners at the Flexible Transmission Development conference, held as part of the Green Power Grid Congress, 4-5 December 2012, which will advance policy and industry discussion and include a series of interactive debates analysing the major challenges involved in cost-effectively connecting offshore wind farms and the scaling up of the offshore wind power grid:

·         How can the regulatory and commercial communities come together and create a cost-effective offshore wind power grid infrastructure?

·         Sessions will focus on policy frameworks, legal and financial challenges and address the practicalities of permitting, installation, cabling and construction risk

50+ leading speaker minds over 2 days leading the debate.

Providing an outstanding scope for networking, meet face-to-face with key players in the industry, including:

·         Eddie O’Connor, Founder and Chief Executive, Mainstream Renewable Power and President, Friends of the Super Grid

·         Mihai Paun, Network Development Advisor, ENTSO-E

·         Nicole-Nabi Siefken, Policy Officer, DG Energy, European Commission

·         Laure Kaelble, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Protection and Nuclear Safety (BMU), Germany

Lawrence E. Jones, Ph.D. (EE), Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Policy & Industry Relations, Alstom Grid North America

·         Udo Giegerich, Chief Financial Officer, 50Hertz Transmission

·         Daniel Wong, Head of European Infrastructure and Utilities Team, Macquarie Capital

·         Thomas Heider, Director, Corporate Banking, Bayern LB

Andrew Hiorns, Future Strategy Manager, National Grid

·         Dima Rifai, Managing Partner, Paradigm Change

·         Gunnar Lundberg, Markets Chairman, Eurelectric, Vice President, Vattenfall

·         Milan Vukasovic, International Project Manager, Market Department, Austrian TSO

·         Rudolf Baumann, Chairman TSO Security Cooperation Steering Committee, Swissgrid

·         Tor Inge Akselsen, Senior Vice President, International Public Affairs, Statnett

·         Rui Pestana, Director, Systems and Development, Rede Electrica Nacional

·         Maurizio Scaravaggi, Country Manager, Italy, Nur Energie

·         Terje Gjengedal, Senior Vice President, R&D Director, Statnett, Chief Executive Officer, Energy Technology Integration

More information on the conference agenda, and registration is available at www.greenpowerconferences.com/greenpowergrid, by following @GreenPowerMC (https://twitter.com/#!/GreenPowerMC) and @GreenPowerAnna on Twitter, by joining our Linkedin group Energy Grid and Flexible Transmission Development (http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=3899896&trk=myg_ug...) or by keeping up to date with our Scoop It page (http://www.scoop.it/t/european-grid).

Note to Editors

Green Power Conferences are pleased to welcome journalists to attend the 2012 Green Power Grid Congress free of charge. To request a press pass please email michael.chaplin@greenpowerconferences.com

About Green Power Conferences

Green Power Conferences (http://www.greenpowerconferences.com/) is the market leader in renewable energy conferences. Since 2003, over 15,000 delegates have attended more than 300 conferences, exhibitions, workshops and training courses providing strategic business intelligence to the renewable energy and sustainability industries. Green Power’s expertise lies in producing high quality, interactive events that provide ample networking opportunities for delegates, sponsors and partners. More information and a full list of current conferences is available at: www.greenpowerconferences.com.

Media Contacts

Michael Chaplin

Green Power Grid Congress Marketing Manager

Green Power Conferences

michael.chaplin@greenpowerconferences.com

+44 (0)203 384 8870