Re-engineering Europe's Energy: Dutch Mistakes and European Solutions

Recording of Tuesday, June 18, 2024 | The smarter E Europe Conferences 2024 | Conference Program | Language: English | Duration: 13:45 .

CEO of iwell Reflects on Netherlands' Renewable Energy Transition Successes and Challenges, Proposes Future Solutions for European Grid Infrastructure

In a discussion from seven years ago, Jan Willem De Jong, CEO and founder of iwell, critiqued the complacency of Dutch grid operators regarding their preparedness for an influx of renewable energy sources like solar power and electric vehicles. At that time, grid operators were confident in their high uptime rates and the ability to connect any consumer or business without issues. However, fast forward to 2024, these predictions have materialized with significant consequences. Despite making strides towards renewable energy—becoming number one worldwide in solar installations per capita and significantly increasing EV adoption—the Netherlands is now facing critical infrastructure challenges. The current electrical grid cannot accommodate additional solar energy or increased consumption needs until at least 2030 due to underestimated growth potential and focus solely on generation rather than distribution. Jan Willem advocates for a shift in mindset: recognizing that merely expanding grids won't fully solve this decentralized energy transition issue. Instead, innovative solutions are necessary for rebuilding European energy infrastructure efficiently—a direction already being pursued through hundreds of projects across Europe involving substantial behind-the-meter storage capabilities spearheaded by companies like iwell.

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Speaker

Jan Willem De Jong
CEO
iwell GmbH
Germany

Talk of session: Use Cases: New Challenges, New Opportunities - Explore the Potential

Energy storage is not an end in itself. The focus is usually on the economic benefits. Previous use cases are often not economically viable. In many cases, CAPEX and OPEX are still too high in relation to the yields. However, we are observing that the market is changing. New framework conditions and/or technical challenges offer opportunities for new types of storage use cases. The transformation of the energy system is giving rise to new use cases. For example, we are already seeing how grid bottlenecks are leading to critical conditions in the electricity grid. In response, transport grid operators are setting up battery storage systems known as grid boosters to test how they can use them to eliminate grid bottlenecks. But there are also many other storage options. This session will give you an insight into new projects and applications for storage systems.

Further Talks of this session: