IEEE Green Energy Summit 2015, Panel 1: When will green become the new normal?

Growing awareness of possible future scarcity in energy sources and the dependency on foreign primary energy sources has led to a turnaround in the energy policy in Europe, transitioning towards a more renewable energy supply. Recent events such as the Fukushima incident have accelerated this process. As a result, renewable energy sources are forming a considerable portion of the current energy supply, an evolution which is expected to continue over time. The growth was initially driven by ambitious targets on the one hand, and a wide set of support measures promoting the introduction of renewable energy sources on the other. The renewable energy sector has seen a strong growth of the last decades, with a leading role for the European industry, also on a global level. The levelized cost of energy sources of the different energy sources has dropped considerably, with many of them becoming competitive.

Key discussion points

• How long should we keep supporting green energy which is becoming increasingly competitive, and what are the appropriate means to do so (local vs EU-wide, CO2 tax, subsidies, priority access…)?
• What is the overall objective of future incentive schemes?
• How can we incentivize further increasing levels of renewables with decreasing whole-sale market prices (marginal cost = 0) for increasing the penetration of renewables?
• Should there become a shift of incentives towards renewables enablers (grid, storage…)?

Panel Members:

Hans ten Berge – Secretary General, Union of the Electricity Industry (EURELECTRIC) 

Marie Donnelly – Director, Renewables, Research and Innovation, Energy Efficiency Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission

Tomas Gomez San Roman – Electrical Engineering Professor, Comillas University, Spain

James Luger – Senior Manager Sustainable development, Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), UK and Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER)