Parliamentary questions
27 January 2021
Subject: European electricity system: towards an energy shortage?By 2030, many dispatchable power plants in the European Union will be shut down. This means that plants producing over 110 GW will be withdrawn from the network in favour of renewable (wind and photovoltaic) energy.
A recent report by France Stratégie raised concerns about the danger of destabilisation facing the European electricity network because of renewables. The problem of efficiency will be accompanied by a meteorological imperative.
For France Stratégie the premise is a simple one: electricity shortages will be a permanent feature in Europe by 2030, with a network which is incapable of satisfying demand during average peak periods. Worse still, if no dispatchable means of generation is added, the margins will become negative and the Member States will be forced to import energy. Storage is expensive and dangerous, if not impossible.
Furthermore, the interconnection of systems between the Member States will only amplify the problems.
1. What action will be taken to ensure that the Member States have a steady supply of energy, thereby avoiding the predicted shortages?
2. By obliging them to resort to importing energy, does the Commission realise it is seriously undermining the sovereignty of the Member States in the matter of energy independence?
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