On March 14th, the European Commission plans to publish its proposal to reform the European Electricity Market Design (EMD). Although the political discussion has focused on the short-term wholesale markets and their impact on consumer prices, in the recently closed public consultation, the Commission additionally suggested different longer-term instruments to incentivise a fast growth in renewable generation capacity as a way to help Europe become more independent from imports of Russian gas.

With growing shares of variable generation, the volatility in the electricity supply-demand balance is increasing, requiring significantly higher system flexibility. Industry stakeholders suggest that technology that ensures generation adequacy in periods of low variable renewables supply (i.e. wind, sun) should fall under the category of investments needed to create a greener and more secure energy system.

The Commission has acknowledged the importance of flexible solutions by including these in the consultation text. This suggests it’s the perfect time to involve multiple stakeholders in a full exchange on the importance of flexible solutions to the energy system we are building for ourselves and for future generations.

Relisten to this EURACTIV Hybrid Conference to learn more about “flexibility” to facilitate a more resilient energy market and a decarbonised energy system. What are the different flexibility needs and the available technical solutions? What investments are needed and how can the electricity market design benefit from these investments?