"The blackout in Spain has highlighted an urgent need: the robustness and proper management of electrical grids are indispensable to Europe's energy security," says Valentin Vigier, Head of Responsible Investment Research, La Financière de l’Échiquier (LFDE).
The blackout that occurred on April 28 in Spain and Portugal revived debates about Europe’s energy transition. While this major outage renewed accusations by some against renewable energies — deemed responsible for an imbalance between electricity production and demand due to their intermittent nature — the conclusions of the investigation have, to date, confirmed none of these leads.
This incident nevertheless strongly reminded us of an imperative need: the robustness and proper management of electrical grids are indispensable to Europe’s energy security. And their financing is a priority.
The electrification of Europe will be essential to the success of its energy transition strategy and the fight against global warming. It also represents a lever of sovereignty in the face of the continent’s heavy dependence on imported fossil fuels. The European Commission moreover announced on May 6 its intention to eliminate imports of Russian gas by the end of 2027, while the latter still accounted for 19% of European gas consumption in 2024.
To avoid replacing one dependence with another — for example on American liquefied natural gas (LNG) — electrification is imperative. It must also be accompanied by electricity storage solutions, an increasing deployment of smart meters, allowing the smoothing of consumption peaks, as well as an increase in the number of "prosumers," those consumers who produce part of their own electricity.
The European Court of Auditors warns of the need to make "substantial investments" in the 27 Member States of the European Union. Its current estimate: €1,871 billion by 2050.
Succeeding in the electrification scenario developed by the International Energy Agency is a titanic challenge. The share of electricity in final energy demand will have to be raised from 23% in 2022 to 57% in 2050. At the same time, the share of renewables in the power mix will need to increase from 42% to 90% by 2040.
However, the European power grid is aging: nearly 40% of the 11.3 million kilometers of power lines are now over 40 years old. This grid therefore needs to be modernized and expanded to absorb the coming wave of electrification — electric vehicles, heat pumps, industrial needs, etc.
The European Court of Auditors forecasts, in its analytical report, a 60% increase in electricity consumption during peak hours by 2050. It warns of the need to make "substantial investments" in the 27 Member States of the European Union. Its current estimate: €1,871 billion by 2050.
This modernization must be accompanied by strengthening interconnections between countries, in order to better manage fluctuations and to generate several billion euros in savings each year. For example, the Bay of Biscay project, connecting the French and Spanish grids, should double electricity exchange capacities and avoid the loss of 7,430 GWh of green electricity per year, according to RTE.
Faced with these challenges, we are convinced of the need to support grid operators, key players in this transformation, such as the German E.ON, one of the main network operators in Europe. The energy company has moreover announced an investment plan of €42 billion to modernize European energy infrastructures by 2028.
Elia, the network operator in Belgium, is also developing cross-border interconnections to facilitate the exchange of electricity between countries. Its role is decisive in the deployment of offshore projects aimed at connecting offshore wind farms to onshore grids. Another example: in the United Kingdom, National Grid is implementing infrastructures and solutions to integrate more renewables and strengthen the resilience of the grid in connection with continental Europe.
The energy transition is the major challenge of the century. Investing in this sector of the future will make it possible to meet large-scale challenges.
This article has been automatically translated using AI. If you notice any errors, please don't hesitate to contact us.
"If the Federal Council is now considering abolishing the program — or at least withdrawing the federal contribution — it is mainly because of the windfall effects it generates," explains Philippe Thalmann, professor of environmental economics at EPFL.
"Today, 70% of our results come from abroad, while 70% of our investments are made in our historic service territory in Switzerland," says Cédric Christmann, Chief Executive Officer of Primeo Energie.
Interview with Philip Mäder, head of media relations at BKW.
At this stage, the investigations reveal an overvoltage problem that led to the failure, but do not yet allow its root cause to be identified.