A new lobby group dedicated to accelerating the planning and delivery of a pan-European “supergrid” for renewable energy has been formed by Irishwoman Lesley O’Connor.
The organisation, SupergridEurope, will be guided by the vision set out in a book on the subject by Ms O’Connor’s father, the renewables pioneer Eddie O’Connor who died last year. It was co-authored by Kevin O’Sullivan, who is environment and science editor with The Irish Times.
The launch of the group comes ahead of the European Commission’s grids package in the autumn, which will include legislation to ensure cross-border integrated grid planning.
Ms O’Connor is a renewable energy investor with over a decade’s experience advancing decarbonisation projects. She is a non-executive director of Aker Mainstream Renewables and has served on the board of Mainstream Renewable Power since 2015.
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Ms O’Connor launched think-tank Trifecta Ireland aimed at influencing energy policy here in May.
SupergridEurope, which will be based in Brussels, will be led by executive director Christian Kjaer who has extensive experience with renewables groups and is chief public affairs officer at SuperNode, chairman of CurrENT, and former chief executive of WindEurope.
As a central policy priority, SupergridEurope is calling for the establishment of a European energy agency to serve as an independent grid architect.
This agency would complement the Energy Union Task Force, work with the European Investment Bank, and be tasked with co-ordinating long-term grid planning.
It would be tasked with providing transparent data, identifying grid innovation gaps, overseeing the delivery of big cross-border infrastructure, and ensuring that Europe’s energy system evolves to meet its climate and competitiveness ambitions.
“The realisation of a pan-European electricity supergrid is no longer a technical debate – it’s an urgent political priority for maintaining European competitiveness that requires governance reform,” said Ms O’Connor.
SupergridEurope said Europe must move beyond “fragmented initiatives” to drive European competitiveness through innovation, affordable energy and the reduction of excessive dependences.
“Using innovative grid technologies, we can provide cost-competitive, indigenous energy across a unified European market,” it said.
Mr Kjaer said a supergrid is the “enabler for establishing the free movement of electricity as a fifth European freedom”.
