The European Union is working to reduce their emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050. A number of measures are currently being worked out in order to get the EU on the road towards such a lofty goal. A number of different technologies are being used, from wind to solar to biofuel. Solar power is popular in Spain, nuclear in France and wind in the North Sea. The question some are raising is: how to incorporate all this power into all the nations of the EU?
The European Climate Foundation recently released a report in which they suggested that the European Union as a whole should work to connect their energy. Currently, the individual EU countries maintain their own energy grids and have little to no cross-border connections. Such limited connections will limit the EU’s ability to reach their energy goals according to the report.
The report stated: “Transmission must develop from a minor trading and reserve-sharing role to one that enables significant energy exchanges between regions across the year.” Increasing energy sharing across the continent would require large power cables and pylons across nations, which many argue against as unsightly.
The report is facing significant opposition, especially from countries such as France. Such continental connections could hamper their nuclear utilities. Another issue is the pylon and cable issue for such areas as the Pyrenees between Spain and France. Between just Spain and France an energy exchange increase would be required around 40 gigawatts. Currently only about 1 gigawatt of power is transferred between the two. Similar problems would be found between other borders.
If such a continental energy connection were to occur, it would be expected to significantly raise the cost of energy investment as a whole. The EU is expected to be investing around 4.2 trillion euros ($5.7 trillion) in the next 40 years. Connecting the continent’s energy supply would most likely cost approximately an additional 3 trillion euros.
