Long-Term Energy Trends – Where Will We Be in 2050?

4TH ENERDAY CONFERENCE ON ENERGY ECONOMICS AND TECHNOLOGY, TU DRESDEN APRIL 3RD, 2009The fourth gathering of the popular ENERDAY Conference was a one day event guided by the giddy-sounding theme of “LONG-TERM ENERGY TRENDS – WHERE WILL WE BE IN 2050?” The event attracted over 90 European experts in energy policy, energy technology and energy economics from academia, regulators, consultancies, and the energy industry itself. The event took place under the umbrella of TU Dresden’s Energy Competence Centre (Energy 21++) and was hosted by Prof. Christian von Hirschhausen. Pre- and post-conference meals, as well as an excellent tour of Dresden the following day, provided ample opportunities for networking in what proved to be a relaxed, broad-ranging and engaging event. The conference itself was organized into three keynote speeches and four sets of concurrent sessions (usually three running at any one time). The 11 concurrent sessions were: Energy System 2050 (1) & (2), Electricity (1) & (2), Energy Technology, Renewables, Renewables and Network Integration, Oil & Coal, Natural Gas, Regulation and Investment and Supply Security. This summary is based on the key note addresses and attendance and participation at the Regulation and Investment, Supply Security, Renewables, and Electricity (2) sessions