Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (‘CIP’) has outlined a pathway for Europe to boost energy security through investment in clean energy, grids, flexibility and electrification in a new report published today at WindEurope.
The fund manager says that the logic for electrification “is getting stronger” and that the region could achieve the three pillars of the energy trilemma – energy security, affordability and environmental sustainability – by 2050 through a range of political and practical actions.
In the report – Charging Ahead: A Roadmap for an Electrified, Competitive and Resilient European Energy System – CIP says that replacing fossil fuels with clean energy will have several benefits, including lowering structural costs and energy prices, cutting import exposure and reducing emissions. The region could achieve near-net zero status by 2050 through a balanced and pragmatic approach to energy policy and targeted investments, it adds.
Launching the report, CIP COO Martin Neubert (pictured) said that the Iran war had created “a new global fossil fuel crisis” that is impacting Europe due to its historical dependence on fossil fuels. “We are in a classic energy trilemma, and electrification is the answer,” he added.
According to the report, imported fossil fuels account for around 40% of European energy demand. This presents Europe with the “opportunity of a lifetime”, CIP says in the report. “The political and investment choices on energy made this decade will determine whether Europe creates a new path or locks in its long-term vulnerabilities.”
In the report, CIP states that technologies such as wind and solar PV will remain “core pillars of the transition”, and assumes a build-out of around 2500GW of new generating capacity by 2050, including flexible generation such as batteries, electrolysers and natural gas.
Investment in grids should also be accelerated, notes the report, with around €120bn of capital needed annually.
Overall investment needs to achieve the roadmap outlined in the report are €200bn/year, CIP states.