Overcoming energy scarcity and high energy prices
Recommendations for the European legislative period 2024-2029
With the Green Deal, Europe has clearly expanded its global pioneering role in climate protection. However, this has also increased the costs that companies must pay for climate protection measures and electricity. To keep up with the global race for green technologies of the future, the EU must finally combine the Green Deal with an industrial strategy. The top priority of this strategy must be to ensure that European companies have sufficient energy to do business at internationally competitive prices.
What matters now
Despite exorbitant energy costs caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the market did not fail. The tried and tested European electricity market design should therefore not be cancelled out of crisis mode. It should continue based on the triad of energy policy targets and the established market mechanism of the merit order principle. Contracts for difference should not be mandatory but continue to be available as a voluntary market design option for member states.
The current position and forward prices do not allow internationally competitive electricity-intensive production in Europe. The EU must therefore do everything it can to expand and increase supply on the electricity market. Planning and authorisation procedures should be further accelerated to speed up the expansion of renewable energies. Generation-independent revenue streams should be made possible for the rapid expansion of back-up capacities.
The EU should further advance the European internal energy market and closely integrate the necessary infrastructure of various energy sources (in addition to electricity and gas, also hydrogen and CO2). For further development and expansion of Europe’s energy infrastructure, there must be more coordination, dialogue, and consultation processes with stakeholders in infrastructure planning.
