New research from Vlerick Business School’s Energy Centre says EU countries should cooperate with each other more to bring down the cost of renewable energy.
The report shows that member states should develop their energy transmission investment plans on an EU-wide level, rather than in isolation.
Professor Leonardo Meeus, who has been advising the European Commission on the implementation of the EU Energy Infrastructure Package for 2020, developed a ‘competitive equilibrium model’ to determine whether the current framework regarding renewable energy transmission within the EU is the optimal design.
His results revealed that when countries develop energy investment plans on a national level, it has a negative impact on the cost of renewable energy – in some cases leading to an 89% increase.
The model’s simulations also showed that EU countries should trade renewable energy with each other – another way to reduce costs.
Professor Meeus said: ‘’Even though we have agreed to share the costs of developing renewable energy in Europe, we have not yet been able to do the same for the infrastructure required to transport this energy to where it’s most needed. Without more European cooperation to invest in infrastructure, we risk wasting our renewable energy – and pushing up the price as a result. You could say renewable energy is being lost in transmission.’’
