Digitalisation of energy flexibility

In 2019, the European Commission announced its European Green Deal, a set of policy initiatives to curb CO2 emissions across the economy by 2050, and in summer 2021 the Commission presented the Fit for 55 package, which set an intermediate target to reduce emissions by 55% from 1990 levels by 2030. Additionally, Fit for 55 would, among other initiatives, increase the target share of renewables in the overall energy mix from 32% to 40% by 2030. Currently, 20% of all energy in the European Union comes from renewable sources; achieving the Fit for 55 goal would mean a doubling of renewable energy sources in the next nine years. For the energy sector, achieving this target will entail shifting from conventional to renewable energy sources at an increased pace. Most renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, are fluctuating and non-dispatchable; that is, they cannot be controlled by grid operators or market needs but instead are weather-dependent. This fluctuation in supply can create mismatches between generation and demand that requires additional flexibility to equilibrate the power system. This report, researched and written by the Energy Transition Expertise Centre (EnTEC) under the auspices of the European Union looks at topics related to energy transition and focuses on potential solutions for enabling a renewables-based power system that are primarily at least strongly digital. It mainly examines digitally enabled flexibility solutions that leverage existing infrastructure, and does not include purpose-built non-digital flexibility solutions such as utility-scale batteries and gas power plants. EnTEC will support the transformation of the EU energy system by monitoring and analysing trends in technologies and innovations and their impacts on the ongoing energy transition. It will provide the European Commission with recommendations for policy responses and triggering the debate regarding societal changes required to achieve the European Green Deal targets.