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The precise definition of 'market' gives a lot of room to form opinions. On the one hand: Europe is a block, and Europe is better for it, given the realities o

by brnt 3y ago

The precise definition of 'market' gives a lot of room to form opinions. On the one hand: Europe is a block, and Europe is better for it, given the realities of geopolitics. A common energy infrastructure and policy are integral to making such a block function. Power, electrical or political, needs to be organized for it to work optimally. The European democracies can then define what optimal means: what do we actually want to optimize? That's the other hand: I agree that a commercial marketplace is not the right focus, at least not now. Europe needs energy sovereignty more than a place for capitalists to extract value. We need to guarantee there is value to extract for future generations first, as the Russian invasion in neighboring Ukraine shows. We can bicker on who makes how much profit later. Making Europeans less sensitive to macro events in their energy bill is one aim, giving European industry, a foundation under the EU as a power block, is a second aim. We can only make meaningful progress with a well integrated energy market and integrated policies on these subjects. I read the article in this spirit, not in the spirit that Europe needs more deregulation and more commercial opportunities in this market.

ExoticPearTree 3y ago
European countries are already interconnected. And they import/export power to their neighbors. I don't see a big issue that power from one end can't "flow" to the other end. The losses over thousands of kilometers of power lines will probably offset any gains on the "cheapness" of renewables.
- brnt 3y ago
  Those connectors have bandwidths, and thus require planning or expansion. Countries have differing policies, which have impacts on countries connected (famous example: wind on German offshore has impact on whether France scales nuclear plants down). The market as is does not favor price stability, or low prices, as parent pointed rightly out, both of which require coordination across European borders. Transmission-loss reduction is a good example of how Europe might deepen cooperation: HVDC lines are rapidly becoming feasible and economically interesting. By their nature, the require cooperation of multiple jurisdictions and thus policy frameworks, potentially hundreds if including sometimes powerful local governments.

by brnt 3y ago

ExoticPearTree 3y ago

European countries are already interconnected. And they import/export power to their neighbors. I don't see a big issue that power from one end can't "flow" to the other end. The losses over thousands of kilometers of power lines will probably offset any gains on the "cheapness" of renewables.

brnt 3y ago
Those connectors have bandwidths, and thus require planning or expansion. Countries have differing policies, which have impacts on countries connected (famous example: wind on German offshore has impact on whether France scales nuclear plants down). The market as is does not favor price stability, or low prices, as parent pointed rightly out, both of which require coordination across European borders. Transmission-loss reduction is a good example of how Europe might deepen cooperation: HVDC lines are rapidly becoming feasible and economically interesting. By their nature, the require cooperation of multiple jurisdictions and thus policy frameworks, potentially hundreds if including sometimes powerful local governments.