Renewable Energy - Projects

The SUSPLAN (PLANning for SUStainability) project is a 3-year project, initiated in September 2008 under the European Union’s 7th Framework Program (FP7), and is sponsored by the Directorate General Transport and Energy (DG-TREN). SUSPLAN focuses on developing strategies, recommendations, and benchmarks for the integration of renewable energy sources (RES) by 2030-2050 within a Europe-wide context.

Most likely the energy system in Europe in 2050 will be quite different from the system we know today. In the future, much more of the energy production will be based on local or regional resources, and many consumers may also become energy producers feeding into the infrastructures. In addition, huge amounts of new resources located far away from the consumers, like for instance offshore wind, will be utilized. These changes will require very different infrastructures than today.

In SUSPLAN it is recognized that large-scale implementation of RES regional energy systems cannot be treated autonomously. Instead, interdependencies between regional and trans-national energy systems exist. The combination of regional and trans-national scenario studies, which will be conducted within SUSPLAN, should deliver robust guidelines for the integration of RES into future grid infrastructures. 

ECN Policy Studies is leader of work package 3 (WP3). In WP3 the importance of transnational networks and their benefits, compared to individual regional networks, are investigated for a  maximum possible share of renewable energy in the electricity and gas sector. Costs and benefits of renewable energies are compared with an increased investment in the electricity and gas infrastructure assessing as well the need for infrastructure expansion. Barriers against the integration of renewable energies in the networks will be identified. A long-term plan for grid connection of renewable energy in Europe until 2050 will be developed. We also contribute to work packages 2, 3 and 5.

More project details can be found on the following website: www.susplan.eu.
A brochure can be downloaded here.

For further information you can contact Karina Veum.