EU electrification plans have cross-sector impact

In its electrification action plan (32-page / 691KB PDF), the European Commission warned of the threat to the EU’s competitiveness and security unless there is “a radical shift towards efficient electrification of demand”. The plan sets out a series of actions designed to support the growth of clean energy and greater energy efficiency across industry, transport and buildings, with the Commission highlighting scope to save €260 billion per year by 2040 on the cost of fossil fuel imports in the EU if it meets targets to reduce its dependency on oil and gas from other countries.

The Commission has proposed a new target of increasing the proportion of the EU’s energy consumption that is met by electricity. It said the EU’s electrification rate is currently 23%, compared with China, Korea, and Japan where it stands at more than 30%. It has outlined an indicative electrification target of hitting 46% in the EU by 2040 – a proposed target that is still subject to an impact assessment.

Specific legislative proposals (97-page / 1.16MB PDF) to tackle high electricity costs have been outlined by the Commission alongside its electrification action plan. Those plans include measures to drive down the cost of using electricity transmission and distribution networks, enable the development, deployment and effective use of smart electricity grids, boost smart meter uptake, prioritise grid connections for certain users, and leverage member state tax regimes to support the uptake of electricity as an energy source.

The electrification action plan itself provides for further action to be taken, including the development of a new “network code” and revision of existing network codes on requirements for generators and demand connection, “to facilitate demand response and the seamless integration of battery storage, thermal storage, geothermal, EVs and heat pumps into the electricity grid”. Those proposals are expected to be published later this year.

The Commission has further detailed its intention to increase electric vehicle (EV) take-up, including potentially through strengthened public procurement targets. It has further pledged to introduce new ‘vehicle-to-grid’ (V2G) requirements for new EVs placed on the EU market. Those proposals are expected to be published before the end of 2027 with a view to them taking effect “as of 2030”. V2G is a term used to describe the flow of electricity both to EVs and from EVs back to the grid while vehicles sit idle, via a bidirectional charger. The Commission said its V2G proposals will include “technical requirements to enable interoperability such as standardised communication protocols”.

New measures to boost transparency over the energy consumption of data centres will also be introduced, the Commission said. It has promised to “adopt a common Union rating scheme for data centres” and further “introduce minimum performance standards for data centres”. EU law already requires larger data centres to report information on their energy performance and sustainability.