We now live in an era of energy uncertainty. The days of cheap and abundantly available energy are over. The woirld is running out of indigenous energy resources in the form of fossil fuels at a time when a paradigm shift in energy prices is occurring. It is clear that this century will be characterised by intensified competition for energy which will inevitably push up prices, lead to periodic scarcity and precipitate a scramble for reserves among the world’s main economic blocks.
Dependency on imported fossil fuel has become a threat to economic stability because of the impact of increased fuel prices on the cost base, most notably on the price of electricity. It is essential that Europe develops its own internal energy resources to the maximum extent possible, as well as promoting energy efficiency.
Europe is the world leader in renewable energy and in the most promising and mature renewable technology, wind power, it has both a competitive and comparative advantage. Wind energy will not only be able to contribute to securing energy independence and climate goals in the future, it could also turn a serious energy supply problem into an opportunity in the form of commercial benefits, technology research, exports and employment.
The economic future can be planned on the basis of electricity costs that are known and predictable, as this electricity is derived from an indigenous energy source free of all the security, political, economic and environmental disadvantages associated with oil and gas. There is an urgent need to address inefficiencies, distortions and historically determined institutional and legal issues related to the overall structure, functioning and development of the broader electricity markets and power infrastructure. universe projects has concluded that current electricity markets are not competitive for four main reasons: lack of cross-border transmission links; existence of dominant, integrated power companies; biased grid operators; low liquidity in wholesale electricity markets.
These four barriers are also the main institutional and structural deficiencies preventing new technologies such as wind power to enter the market. The major issues of wind power integration are related to: changed approaches in operation of the power system, connection requirements for wind power plants to maintain a stable and reliable supply, extension and modification of the grid infrastructure, and influence of wind power on system adequacy and the security of supply. The need for infrastructure investments is not based on wind energy only, consequently, grid extensions, grid reinforcement and increased backup capacity benefit all system users. An integrated approach to future decisions is needed. A large contribution from wind energy to power generation is feasible in the same order of magnitude as the individual contributions from the conventional technologies. The capacity of power systems to absorb significant amount of wind power is determined more by economics and regulatory rules than by technical or practical constraints. Already today a penetration of 20% of power from wind is feasible without posing any serious technical or practical problems.
