WindEurope has welcomed the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators’ (ACER’s) final assessment of the EU electricity market design, in particular, for advocating the least interventionist policy options wherever possible.
The trade body called on the European Commission to ensure that such input is taken into account in future decisions.
The report lists different measures according to their potential risk for market distortions. Windfall taxes are not among the most preferred policy options.
Windfall taxes are difficult to implement, jeopardise investor confidence and might deter necessary investments in Europe’s energy transition.
The report shows that cross-border trade of energy and the integration of electricity markets brought €34bn a year in benefits over the last decade, WindEurope said.
A more integrated and interconnected European energy market is more resilient, it said.
Cross-border flows of electricity help to avoid curtailment or even blackouts and improve energy security.
The assessment also highlights the need to improve permitting, speed up the roll-out of electricity grids and increase flexibility options, in particular seasonal flexibility.
The trade body said short-term measures taken today must not undermine the EU’s long-term objective of climate neutrality by 2050.
Uncoordinated and ill-designed emergency measures could roll back EU market integration, increase the overall cost of the energy transition and hamper Europe’s energy security, it added.
WindEurope chief executive Giles Dickson (pictured) said: “Ending Europe’s dependence on imported gas, oil and coal is crucial to ensure energy security and affordable prices in the long-run.
“As is the rapid expansion of renewables. Europe needs to build 35GW a year of new wind energy to deliver its energy security and climate goals. This is much more than it’s currently building.
“We can build more if Europe fixes the overly complex permitting processes for new wind farms.
“But it’s not doable if Europe now starts fiddling with the basic rules for setting power prices.”
In 2021 the European Commission tasked the ACER to assess the design of the EU electricity market in light of rising electricity prices.