SET-Plan Action 4: Initial workshop on PV integration in Regional Energy Systems
Hemma Bieser
New SET-Plan Stakeholder Initiative on PV Self Consumption Projects started with a Kick-off meeting in Brussels
On October 23rd, 2018, more than 30 experts from all over Europe gathered in Brussels to start the new SET-Plan Stakeholder Initiative on PV Self Consumption Projects in order to shape the energy systems of the future.
"The overarching goals driving the SET-Plan Implementation plan for Action 4 are the development and operation of energy systems showing an appropriate level of resilience, reliability, energy and economic efficiency, leveraging the use and integration of all types of bulk and local resources, with special reference to integrating variable renewables at all time scales, explained Michael Hübner, Co-Chair of the SET-Plan MS Working Group on SET-Plan Action 4- Energy Systems and Networks (SET-Plan Steering Group).
Photo by Becquerel Institute
New business models need a new regulation
While we have reached market readiness for renewable and storage technologies, new business models and smart energy services are still under development. The biggest obstacles for new business models are the current regulation and legislation. In the workshop the expert’s presentations have shown different approaches on how to develop new business models, e.g. for peer to peer trading within a community, energy selfsustained districts or sharing energy resources models. Within the given market model and regulation many business models are either economically not feasible or not allowed within the current regulation.
Local Energy Communities (LECs), as defined in the Winter Package of the European Commission, will give a new framework for innovative decentralized PV business models to overcome regulatory and legal barriers. These new energy systems will be completely different from the existing ones. While over decades the big utilities took care of an European wide, stable and resilient energy system based on coal, gas and nuclear, the new energy system will be a system of systems. A bundle of small decentralized, self organized and intelligent energy grids. Consumers and end-users (municipalities, business owners, private households, etc.) will take over the role of new energy producers.
In LECs the stakeholder roles and responsibilities have to be re-assessed. Even cooperatives, municipalities or private organizations might run LECs in the future. Since in this democratic process high user involvement is required, the user acceptance of new business models, services and technologies is crucial. User involvement and engagement opens up a new field in research and development.
Outcomes of the first stakeholder meeting and next steps
These were the three main outcomes from the initial workshop:
- We have to support policy development that enhances transition processes in society by enabling new business models in a new regulatory and legal framework.
- We need to find new ways to implement community self-consumption projects. How can we share energy locally within the given framework? Currently so called regulatory sandboxes are established in certain member states in order to develop new business models and to report back the results to the regulator.
- We need to support transition processes that occur despite slow policy development.
Photo by Becquerel Institute
All participants agreed on continuing the collaboration within this stakeholder initiative. New experts are very welcome to bring in their expertise and join the group.
The next meeting of the stakeholder initiative is planned on May 6thand 7th, 2019, in Austria, within the Mission Innovation Week Austria, organized by the Austrian Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology.
If you have any questions or input to the stakeholder initiative, or if you want to join the initiative, please do not hesitate to contact us (E-Mail).
!! See also our Press release !!
About the organizers
The first SET-Plan Action 4 Stakeholder Workshop on PV Self Consumption was organized in collaboration between avantsmart, Becquerel Institute, GreenWatch and the EU funded project PVProsumer4Grid.
Photo by Becquerel Institute
