1. Stroputė 2014 December
No Transition without Transmission:
Assuring Public Participation in the EU Renewable Energy Policy
The presentation on the topic “no transition without transmission: assuring public
participation in the EU renewable energy policy” focuses on the electricity sector in
particular. The context of the issue regards the Climate Change regime and the role of
renewable energy in tackling with the global warming. The EU energy policy encourages
decentralized generation, thus public participation is crucial for the energy transition from
fossil fuels to renewables. Yet, renewable energy’s weakest link – transmission networks - is
often disregarded by scholars, public and politicians. Hence, “infrastructural blindness”
prevails in the energy transition debate (Andersen 2014, 76).
Political and scientific aspects of Climate Change regime have become a common
knowledge in the academic society; however, it is worth highlighting that the EU has been
leading the negotiations as an “Environmental Union” with its energy policy as a core
instrument in reducing GHG emissions (economist 2014). “The Energy 2020 Strategy” of the
EU sets 20% targets for cutting the CO2 emissions, increasing energy efficiency and the share
of renewables in the overall EU energy mix (COM/2010/ 639). In the most recent summit
concerning the 2030 climate and energy goals, the EU leaders agreed to increase the share of
renewable energy sources (RES) by 27% (EUobserver 2014).
Public participation and an increasing share of renewable energy are closely
interrelated. Regarding the debate of citizen participation, advocates of public involvement
highlight that citizens are able to participate as experts of home locale, however, it is crucial to
ensure participation among all sectors of society (Lee et al. 2012). Characteristics of RES –
abundance, dispersal through wide geographical area and variability – provide opportunity
and necessity to have more decentralized generation, which concerns increasing public
involvement. Middle income level of society can benefit from opportunities of energy
independence and benefits provided by power production; while the possibility to connect
isolated regions to renewable energy generation provides gains to the more disadvantaged
ones (Grubb and Vigotti 1997). Hence, Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC
encourages decentralization and independent production of energy which fosters community
development and cohesion (Eur-lex 2009). Consequently, increasing number of renewable
energy cooperatives is observed, especially in the UK, where the number of community
owned energy companies grew from one in 1997 to forty three co-operatively owned energy
structures today (The Guardian 2012). Moreover, household generation is gaining ground
with Denmark as an example for this transformation, as 207 household wind turbines were
recorded in the country and the potential increase is predicted (Stenkjaer and Lindholt 2010).
However, the major obstacle to renewable energy development and decentralized
electrcity production is the threat posed to the stability of the grid and increasing risk of the
electricity network blackout (euractiv 2012). Geographical dispersion and variability of RES
requires decentralization of the transmission networks and connection across large territories
to ensure stable supply (Rodriguez et al. 2013). Yet, most of the EU Member States’ grid
system is designed to receive and distribute centrally produced electricity. This is largely due
to the role of the nuclear energy that formed the national energy system, as in the case of
France, or in the former Soviet Union states, where centralization of the transmission
networks was a basis of planned economies (Reiche 2002). In such electrical systems that were
built on predictable loads of energy, Variable Renewable Energy Sources (VRES) are hard to
integrate into the grid. “In small penetrations, the variations can be absorbed without much
consequence” but are increasingly difficult to manage in highly renewable systems (Rodriguez
et al. 2014). The crucial challenges for states with high shares of renewables include the
requirement of conventional balancing and increased transmission possibilities to neighboring
countries as well as the storage of energy, which remains a major issue for wind energy in
particular (ibid.). Hence, as Andersen (2014) highlights, “no transition without transmission”

2. Stroputė 2014 December
is possible with regard to renewables that require installment of smart grids and
transformation of transmission and distribution infrastructure.
The European Union is adressing the challenge and provides the “guidelines for
trans-European energy infrastructure” that proposes the regime of “common interest” and
stresses the necessity to develop “Trans-European Networks for Energy” (EC 2014). The aims
are inline with the challenges - to ensure that completed internal energy market connects
isolated regions, such as Baltic states, and adds to the inclusive growth. Besides, as obstacles to
competition are still prevalent in the internal electricity market, the Regulation (EC) No
714/2009 indicates the rules for the framework of cross-border electricity exchanges (EurLex
2009). Yet, despite the planned policies and investments in the EU energy infrastructure, the
European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) pinpointed
100 hindrances in their plan for network development, with 80% of it arising from RES
integration (ENTSO-E 2012).
Lithuania provides an example for energy infrastructure inefficiencies curbing RES
development. As the recent public inquiry regarding the auction for RES development shows,
despite the political will and bussiness interest – network management issues prevent potential
installment of the renewable energy in the country (regula 2012). The ceiling for total installed
capacity of RES is set to 500MW. Currently, the installed capacity in some regions, such as
the Western part of Lithuania, where wind is most abundant, has already reached the
maximum capacity and remaining overall quota for RES installment is 2,13MW (ibid.).
Thus, even though Lithuania is obliged to increase the share of RES from current 16,6% to
23% till 2020, as set by the RED, its grids do not have the technical capacity to receive
further RES generation due to the voltage imbalance issues (Pikturniene 2012; Bloomberg
2013). Consequently, uneven development requires major restructuring of the energy
infrastructure and as long as networks are not connected to the smart grid, wind energy
development in particular, is limited (Pikturniene 2012). In order to assure the balance of the
network, interconnecedness with neigboring countries is essential. Hence, Lithuania has
planned the LitPol interconnection with Poland and NordBalt with Sweden as well as
transmission network integration into continental EU grid by 2020 (ENA 2012).
However, while the EU and its Member States join efforts to fix financial, technical
and administrative barriers to energy infrastructure improvement, the public opposition to
grid extension emerges, as case studies for nine EU regions show (Boie et al. 2014). The public
raises concerns over negative health impacts of electromagnetic fields, economic
disadvantages that stem from the changing land use and impacts for the environment, such as
threat to endagered species (ibid.). The best available solution to the social barrier concerning
transmission network development is assuring early participation by providing transperancy in
terms of accessible information about the planned project and including diversity of
stakeholders in the public deliberation (Rottmann 2013). In this way, more efficient solutions
that respect citizens’ rights, as required by the Aarhus Convention, could be achieved with
regard to the expansion of the transmission network planned by the EU energy infrastructure
policy.
In conclusion, no ideal solution regarding public participation in the renewable
energy policy exists. The expansion of the transmission network is essential to assure stability
of the grid with increasing rates of decentrally produced electricity from renewable energy
sources, as required by the EU energy policy; yet, the paradox emerges as the public raises
concerns over grid extension. Afterall, what is crucial is to get a new perspective when
thinking about the renewable energy development and acknowledge the importance of
transmission infrastructure in the debate of energy transition in the 21st century. This
perspective is essential for the EU, not just in terms of Climate Change (realistically, the EU
does not have much impact in this respect as it accounts just for 11% of GHG emissions) but
in order to ensure energy security in a democratic society (economist 2014).

3. Stroputė 2014 December
References:
Andersen, A.D. 2014. No Transition without Transmission: HVDC Electricity Infrastructure as an
Enabler for Renewable Energy. In Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions.
Boie, I., Fernandes C., Frias, P., Klobasa, M. 2014. Efficient Strategies for the Integration of
Renewable Energy into Future Energy Infrastructures in Europe – An Analysis based on
transnational Modeling and Case studies for nine European Regions. URL:
www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol
Bloomberg. 2013. Lithuania seeks renewable energy cap, producers say – they’ll sue.
URL:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-14/lithuania-seeks-renewable-
energy-cap-producers-say-they-ll-sue.html
COM/2010/ 639. The Energy 2020 Strategy. URL:
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else- europe-still-aspires-global-leadership-environmental
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ENTSO-E.2012. Ten-year Network development Plan. URL:
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ENA. 2012. Security of Transmission in Lithuanian Energy market. URL:
http://www.ena.lt/aktai/MONITORINGAS%202012.pdf
EUobserver. 2014. EU Leaders reach 2030 goals on Climate. URL:
http://euobserver.com/news/126227

4. Stroputė 2014 December
Eur-lex. 2009. Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23
April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and
subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC. URL: http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32009L0028
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AND OF THE COUNCIL of 13 July 2009
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Pikturniene. 2012. Vejo energetikos pletra Lietuvoje darniosios raidos kontekste.
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%20pletra%20Lietuvoje%20darniosios%20raidos%20kontekste.pdf
Regula. 2012. Public Enquiry regarding the auction for renewable energy installment. URL:
http://www.regula.lt/SiteAssets/aukcionai/2-aukcionas/2-12.pdf
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Rottmann, K. 2013. Recommendations on Transparency and Public Participation in the Context of
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Stenkjaer, N., Lindholt, S. 2010. Household Wind Turbines in Denmark. URL:
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