- Annual investment needs to reach €67 billion: Eurelectric
- Attractive returns necessary for financing power-grid overhaul
Europe must double spending on its power-distribution grid or risk missing its goal of net-zero emissions by the middle of the century, according to industry group Eurelectric.
Investments in the distribution network — which sends electricity to homes and businesses — must rise to an average of €67 billion a year through 2050, from €33 billion currently, the Brussels-based group said in a report Wednesday.
Nations across the globe are under pressure to quickly modernize their grids to deal with factors including cyber threats, extreme weather and the huge expansion of renewable energy sources like solar and wind. The investment is seen as key to curbing carbon emissions in the shift away from fossil fuels.
“To succeed we need attractive returns for investors to be able to finance it, technology and fast electrification to manage the distribution fees,” said Eurelectric President Leonhard Birnbaum, who is also the chief executive of German utility E.On SE.
The needed €67 billion per year is equivalent to about 20% of the European Union’s spending on fossil-fuel imports in 2023, according to the study. Failing to invest could slow connections of electric vehicles, heat pumps and renewables, it added.
