Press Release 1/2015
Brussels, January 2015
EPPSA 9th Technology Evening
Launch of the 2030 Study & Enhanced Collaboration for Thermal Power Generation
EPPSA launches its study on Thermal Power in 2030 – Added Value for EU Energy Policy & renews the collaboration with EUTurbines to further impact EU Policy.
On the 19th of January, the European Power Plant Suppliers Association organised its 9th Technology Evening, with the theme “Thermal Power: a Bridge to the Future”, attracting more than 100 attendants.
The evening saw a keynote of Mr Klaus Dieter Borchardt, Director of Directorate B - Internal Energy Market of DG Energy, and the official launch of the EPPSA study on “Thermal Power in 2030 - Added Value for EU Energy Policy”, which was presented by Dr Kakaras, EPPSA President, and Dr Farley, it’s co-author.
The study analyses 24 scenarios, as set forth by 7 studies, with attention to their projections for 2030 for the Generation Mix, the Capacity Mix and the Thermal Capacity in 2030. These projections were prefaced by an in-depth analysis of the EU Energy Policies and juxtaposed with the findings of the EPPSA New Build Database to get a better idea of where we are coming from, where we could go and where we should go.
The main conclusions of the study:
- EU Energy Policies have set the market on course for a low-carbon electricity system but the importance of Thermal Power and fossil fuel diversity has not been fully recognised.
- Though all studies foresee an important role for Thermal Power plants, this role is changing as a result of the increasing deployment of intermittent RES and Thermal Power plants are moving from mostly “baseload” operation to more flexible operation.
- Thermal Power plants (coal, lignite, gas and biomass), new and retrofits, are capable of balancing the variabilities of demand and intermittent generation whilst meeting environmental limits over their full load range. But there are important economic consequences for the economics of the whole power system and for current and future investment
- EU and Member State policy makers must address the disconnect between the importance of Thermal Power through to 2030 and beyond and the lack of economic viability under current policies
The study can be downloaded on the EPPSA Website.
An additional highlight of the day was the renewed cooperation with EUTurbines which will lead to an enhanced EU collaboration for thermal power generation. This collaboration is meant to highlight the crucial role of Thermal Power Generation in ensuring the affordability & security of supply in Europe.
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The European Power Plant Suppliers Association (EPPSA) is the voice, at European level, of companies supplying power plants, components and services. EPPSA members, located throughout Europe, represent a leading sector of technology with more than 100,000 employees.
EPPSA actively promotes awareness of the importance of flexible and efficient, state-of-the-art thermal power generation and its crucial contribution to ensuring a clean, secure, and affordable energy supply.
EPPSA believes increased investment in Research, Development and Demonstration is a key factor in driving EU competitiveness as well as ensuring an affordable low emission power supply.
Virtually all Thermal Power plants in the EU are built by members of EPPSA or equipped with their components, and provide around 50% of Europe’s electricity.
EPPSA members provide the most advanced thermal power technologies in the world.
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Press Contact: Tom De Latte
EPPSA Communications Officer
t.delatte@eppsa.eu
+32 (0)2 743 29 96
