The European Commission recently announced the "Grid Action Plan", planning to invest 584 billion euros for the inspection, improvement, and upgrade of the European grid and its related facilities. It is preliminarily estimated that the plan will be implemented within 18 months. The European Commission stated that the European grid is facing new major challenges, and a comprehensive overhaul of the grid is imperative to meet the growing demand for electricity.

Focus on Grid Upgrade, Integrate More Green Electricity

It is understood that the "Grid Action Plan" mainly focuses on grid upgrades, especially cross-border grid upgrades, so that it can better integrate renewable energy power from different countries and meet more clean power grid connection needs. At the same time, the EU hopes to attract more investment with this plan, implement more power grid projects, improve financing channels for grid projects, protect the grid supply chain, etc., to improve the transparency of grid operation and improve electricity prices. In addition, the EU hopes to further accelerate the project approval process, urge institutions such as the European Investment Bank to provide new financing tools, and encourage more efficient operation of the grid.

The European Commission stated that about 40% of the EU's distribution network has been in use for more than 40 years. By 2030, cross-border transmission capacity will double. The grid within Europe must adapt to a more digitized, decentralized, and flexible system. Cross-border grids, in particular, need to have a large amount of renewable power transmission capacity. To this end, the EU plans to introduce regulatory incentives, including requiring member states to share the cost of cross-border grid projects.

It is reported that the European Commission has announced the first batch of 166 cross-border grid project lists, and these projects will help the EU grid capacity double by 2030.

The EU official website stated that the European Commission has formulated a supportive legal framework to support the digital upgrade and transformation of the grid.

EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said: "From now until 2030, the EU's electricity consumption is expected to increase by about 60%. Based on this, the grid urgently needs a 'digital' transformation, more 'wind and light' power needs to be connected to the grid, and more electric vehicles need to be charged."

Green Power Installation Surges, Grid Connection Difficult

In recent years, with the continuous growth of renewable energy installations, the pressure on the European transmission grid has gradually increased. The intermittency and instability of "wind and light" power pose a test to grid operation. In recent months, the European power industry has repeatedly emphasized the urgency of grid upgrades. Naomi Chevillard, regulatory affairs director of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, said that the European grid can no longer keep up with the expansion speed of renewable energy and is becoming the main bottleneck for clean energy power grid connection.

The person in charge of the European Power Industry Alliance and Leonhard Birnbaum, CEO of German E.ON Group, said: "More and more renewable energy power is queuing up to connect to the grid, and the queuing time is getting longer and longer. As the largest public utility company in Germany, E.ON's grid connection application has fallen on deaf ears."

The European Wind Energy Association calls for action as soon as possible, because the number of renewable energy waiting for grid connection is large and growing, and the installed capacity of "wind and light" power waiting for grid connection in some European countries has reached hundreds of gigawatts.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance analyst Arhnue Tan said in an interview with reporters: "In order to connect the north with rich wind resources and the south with huge electricity demand, Germany is building a grid, and this plan has been delayed for a long time." In her view, the delay in the approval and grid connection of new onshore wind power projects may suppress the construction of new wind farms.

According to Felicia Aminoff, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Europe's spending on the grid lags far behind its investment in renewable energy. To achieve the net-zero target by 2050, European grid investment must double from the current level.

Approval Process Slow, Charging Anxiety Severe

At the same time, the European electric vehicle industry is also dragged down by the difficulty of charging station grid connection. At the beginning of December this year, Repsol, Spain's largest industrial company, said that it has deployed 1,600 charging stations in Spain, nearly half of which are dormant due to lack of power connections, and this phenomenon is common in Europe.

Oil Price Network pointed out that cumbersome licensing procedures and the need for additional grid connections and power capacity are dragging down the installation of electric vehicle charging stations in Europe, posing a threat to EU transportation electrification. The EU passed legislation earlier this year, requiring that all new cars registered in Europe from 2035 must be zero-emission vehicles.

"Range anxiety has always been one of the obstacles to the rapid popularization of electric vehicles." Matt Harrison, Chief Operating Officer of Toyota Europe, said, "Europe urgently needs a large-scale improvement in charging infrastructure, otherwise it will be difficult to promote the widespread popularization of electric vehicles."

According to the "Grid Action Plan", EU member states must speed up the approval process, especially in the construction and grid connection of charging stations. In this regard, Reuters pointed out that the "Grid Action Plan" may only be effective within the scope of EU legislation, and local-level laws and regulations are almost unaffected.

Repsol said that although it only takes two to three weeks to install fast and ultra-fast charging points, due to different administrative requirements in various parts of Spain, the entire process can last one to two years.

In fact, within the EU, complying with countless regulations from the federal to the city level, the time to establish a fast electric vehicle charging station has risen from 6 months to an average of two years in the past few years, and it also takes a long time to connect charging facilities to the grid, and it has become more and more intense in recent years.

Germany, the largest car market in Europe, has countless red tapes, municipal authorities are slow in approval, and grid operators and power distributors have no uniform requirements for charging stations, causing delays in the construction of charging stations.

The European Charging Station Operator Alliance ChargeUP Europe has been calling for the establishment of standardized and rapid deployment of charging infrastructure throughout Europe. Lucy Mattila, Secretary-General of ChargeUP Europe, said frankly that the "Grid Action Plan" did not propose any specific methods or actions, "the requirements for charging stations need to be further standardized." assistant'> Translate to English: <"EU Launches 'Grid Action Plan', Plans to Overhaul the Grid"> The European Commission says that the European grid is facing new major challenges, and a comprehensive overhaul of the grid is imperative to meet the growing demand for electricity.

The European Commission recently announced the "Grid Action Plan", planning to invest 584 billion euros for the inspection, improvement, and upgrade of the European grid and its related facilities. It is preliminarily estimated that the plan will be implemented within 18 months. The European Commission stated that the European grid is facing new major challenges, and a comprehensive overhaul of the grid is imperative to meet the growing demand for electricity.

Focus on Grid Upgrade, Integrate More Green Electricity

It is understood that the "Grid Action Plan" mainly focuses on grid upgrades, especially cross-border grid upgrades, so that it can better integrate renewable energy power from different countries and meet more clean power grid connection needs. At the same time, the EU hopes to attract more investment with this plan, implement more power grid projects, improve financing channels for grid projects, protect the grid supply chain, etc., to improve the transparency of grid operation and improve electricity prices. In addition, the EU hopes to further accelerate the project approval process, urge institutions such as the European Investment Bank to provide new financing tools, and encourage more efficient operation of the grid.

The European Commission stated that about 40% of the EU's distribution network has been in use for more than 40 years. By 2030, cross-border transmission capacity will double. The grid within Europe must adapt to a more digitized, decentralized, and flexible system. Cross-border grids, in particular, need to have a large amount of renewable power transmission capacity. To this end, the EU plans to introduce regulatory incentives, including requiring member states to share the cost of cross-border grid projects.

It is reported that the European Commission has announced the first batch of 166 cross-border grid project lists, and these projects will help the EU grid capacity double by 2030.

The EU official website stated that the European Commission has formulated a supportive legal framework to support the digital upgrade and transformation of the grid.

EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said: "From now until 2030, the EU's electricity consumption is expected to increase by about 60%. Based on this, the grid urgently needs a 'digital' transformation, more 'wind and light' power needs to be connected to the grid, and more electric vehicles need to be charged."

Green Power Installation Surges, Grid Connection Difficult

In recent years, with the continuous growth of renewable energy installations, the pressure on the European transmission grid has gradually increased. The intermittency and instability of "wind and light" power pose a test to grid operation. In recent months, the European power industry has repeatedly emphasized the urgency of grid upgrades. Naomi Chevillard, regulatory affairs director of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, said that the European grid can no longer keep up with the expansion speed of renewable energy and is becoming the main bottleneck for clean energy power grid connection.

The person in charge of the European Power Industry Alliance and Leonhard Birnbaum, CEO of German E.ON Group, said:

More and more renewable energy power is queuing up to connect to the grid, and the queuing time is getting longer and longer. As the largest public utility company in Germany, E.ON's grid connection application has fallen on deaf ears."

The European Wind Energy Association calls for action as soon as possible, as the number of renewable energy waiting for grid connection is large and growing, and the installed capacity of "wind and light" power waiting for grid connection in some European countries has reached hundreds of gigawatts.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance analyst Arhnue Tan said in an interview with reporters: "In order to connect the north with rich wind resources and the south with huge electricity demand, Germany is building a grid, and this plan has been delayed for a long time." In her view, the delay in the approval and grid connection of new onshore wind power projects may suppress the construction of new wind farms.

According to Felicia Aminoff, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Europe's spending on the grid lags far behind its investment in renewable energy. To achieve the net-zero target by 2050, European grid investment must double from the current level.

Approval Process Slow, Charging Anxiety Severe

At the same time, the European electric vehicle industry is also dragged down by the difficulty of charging station grid connection. At the beginning of December this year, Repsol, Spain's largest industrial company, said that it has deployed 1,600 charging stations in Spain, nearly half of which are dormant due to lack of power connections, and this phenomenon is common in Europe.

Oil Price Network pointed out that cumbersome licensing procedures and the need for additional grid connections and power capacity are dragging down the installation of electric vehicle charging stations in Europe, posing a threat to EU transportation electrification. The EU passed legislation earlier this year, requiring that all new cars registered in Europe from 2035 must be zero-emission vehicles.

"Range anxiety has always been one of the obstacles to the rapid popularization of electric vehicles." Matt Harrison, Chief Operating Officer of Toyota Europe, said, "Europe urgently needs a large-scale improvement in charging infrastructure, otherwise it will be difficult to promote the widespread popularization of electric vehicles."

According to the "Grid Action Plan", EU member states must speed up the approval process, especially in the construction and grid connection of charging stations. In this regard, Reuters pointed out that the "Grid Action Plan" may only be effective within the scope of EU legislation, and local-level laws and regulations are almost unaffected.

Repsol said that although it only takes two to three weeks to install fast and ultra-fast charging points, due to different administrative requirements in various parts of Spain, the entire process can last one to two years.

In fact, within the EU, complying with countless regulations from the federal to the city level, the time to establish a fast electric vehicle charging station has risen from 6 months to an average of two years in the past few years, and it also takes a long time to connect charging facilities to the grid, and it has become more and more intense in recent years.

Germany, the largest car market in Europe, has countless red tapes, municipal authorities are slow in approval, and grid operators and power distributors have no uniform requirements for charging stations, causing delays in the construction of charging stations.

The European Charging Station Operator Alliance ChargeUP Europe has been calling for the establishment of standardized and rapid deployment of charging infrastructure throughout Europe. Lucy Mattila, Secretary-General of ChargeUP Europe, said frankly that the "Grid Action Plan" did not propose any specific methods or actions, "the requirements for charging stations need to be further standardized".