Blueprint for the Clean Energy Transition: Developing Europe's Largest Clean Energy Hub

Recording of Wednesday, June 19, 2024 | The smarter E Europe 2024 | Conference Program | Language: English | Duration: 18:58 .

Maria Leis of Breakthrough Energy emphasizes the urgent need to scale up clean energy storage projects in Europe to combat negative electricity prices and enhance renewable energy viability amid growing innovations

Maria Leis, a representative from Breakthrough Energy Europe, introduced herself and the organization at an energy conference. She highlighted the urgency of accelerating clean energy innovation to meet net zero targets by 2050. The International Energy Forum and European Energy Agency's 2023 report emphasized that while pathways to limiting global warming have narrowed, clean energy growth still offers hope. Innovations in clean technology have progressed significantly; technologies that accounted for almost half of emission reductions needed two years ago now represent about 35%. Maria Leis stressed the need for rapid deployment of these proven solutions. She particularly focused on energy storage as essential for managing intermittent renewable sources like solar and wind. Despite its importance in balancing supply and demand, Europe is not building out storage quickly enough—a situation contributing to negative electricity prices which could harm economic viability by deterring investments. Alan Greenshields continued the discussion, emphasizing that negative energy prices were predictable given plummeting costs of solar and wind generation leading to oversupply at certain times. He noted various classes of storage technologies—electrochemical, thermal, mechanical—and underscored their necessity across different points in power grids to ensure grid stability and support further renewable integration without economic downsides.

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Speaker

Maria Leis
Senior Associate
Breakthrough Energy
Germany

Alan Greenshields
Director EMEA
ESS Inc.
United States of America

Talk of session: A Gigawatt-scale Revolution - Outstanding Energy Storage Projects in Europe

The era of "mega" and "giga" batteries has finally arrived in continental Europe, with hundreds of MW or even GW range-projects being announced on a regular basis. At the same time, durations are also increasing as revenue stacking becomes increasingly important with ancillary services saturating in key markets. Energy storage projects that enable "virtual transmission" are also growing in importance to address grid congestion as more and more renewables come online. Solutions are being sought across the continent for cost control, energy security and increased sustainability. In this session, we will take a closer look at some of the most interesting energy storage projects that reflect key industry trends in Europe, examining their set-up, drivers, economics, challenges and significance for the energy storage sector.