On November 30th, the European Commission presented its new energy strategy with the Energy Winter Package titled "Clean Energy for All Europeans". With this new effort, the Commission seeks to present solutions for a Europe-wide transition to clean energy in order to achieve the climate goals. To this end, the Winter Package includes proposals for an increased energy efficiency target of a 30% reduction relative to 1990 and a new cross-border energy market design which shall be adapted to the increased renewable energy production. In addition, it sets a target for renewable energy of at least 27%, whereas industry associations like WindEurope call for at least 30%. The new strategy also includes new measures to harmonize subsidies for renewable energy and seeks to abolish priority feed-in for newly installed capacities after 2021.

 
With the release of the latest Energy Winter Package, the European Commission also included a regulatory proposal for further cooperation among European energy regulators. The already close interconnection of EU member states through the common trans-European grid is unique in the world, but further cooperation and linking might significantly reduce costs for consumers and provide better energy supply security. Currently, interconnectors use only 25% of their capacities, often due to grid constraints, suggesting that there is still much more cross-border potential. The Winter Package calls for strengthening European and regional cooperation, which would fall closely in line with the goals of the PROMOTioN project, aiming to establish a cross-border meshed offshore grid in the North Sea.

Click here to open the press release of the European Commission