Energy priorities for the Von der Leyen commission

The following article was prepared in order to provide input by the Florence School of Regulation (FSR) into the Commission’s forthcoming deliberations on its detailed Work Program for the next legislature and had been addressed by the Director of the FSR, Jean-Michel Glachant, to President Von der Leyen, EVP Timmermans and Energy Commissioner Simson.The next European Commission’s energy policy should be based on six key foundations, able to ensure the achievement of the 2030 targets and to put the EU on a stable path to full decarbonisation by 2050, while also providing an engine in terms of jobs and economic growth. First, determined action is needed with regards to electricity balancing markets to ensure that the increased level of intermittency in the electricity market does not provide a fundamental break on the development of RES investment. Second, “Renewable Energy Apollo Projects” are necessary because the EU will not achieve its 2030 targets on renewables on a “business as usual” basis.Third, we need to ensure we lay the groundwork for a physical electricity grid designed for 2050; that grid will look significantly different from that of today and sustained investment is required. Fourth, sector coupling represents one of the greatest challenges for the next Commission. The ETS is the obvious mechanism to drive this change, and the Commission will have to see how to let it fulfil its full potential. Firth, new digital technologies will open important new opportunities. A new regulatory framework is needed to ensure that the digital economy, and EVs in particular, can make their full contribution to the EU’s decarbonised energy market. Sixth, the next Commission will need to provide the regulatory framework and create the investment conditions to enable the decarbonised hydrogen market to emerge and grow