Tuesday

3rd Oct 2023

Dutch 'sun and wind' forecast to help cut peak energy use

  • Shifting heavier energy consumption to when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing could help reduce gas use (Photo: TAURON Group)
Listen to article

In recent months, much of the EU energy debate has centred around the slow, painful process of getting 27 member states to agree on a price cap on gas.

But the best and cheapest way to decrease gas prices may be to simply use less of it. In September, the council of 27 EU members agreed to voluntarily reduce gross electricity consumption by 10 percent and a mandatory reduction of five percent during peak hours.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

It is, however, not entirely clear how member states plan to achieve this. They are supposed to report their plans to the commissions "as soon as possible after 1 December." But most of the political energy in national capitals has focused on prices and how to shield households against high energy bills.

What is lacking are concerted efforts to get people and businesses to reduce consumption collectively. "It's every man for himself," Olof van der Gaag, founder of the Dutch Sustainable Energy Association (NVDE), a lobbyist for clean power, told EUobserver.

Together with grid operator Tennet, and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, van der Gaag has initiated a weekly 'energy forecast.' It's a tool meant to inspire households and businesses to concentrate heavy energy consumption on days when wind and sun are abundant.

"If more people use electricity intelligently, fewer gas-fired power plants have to produce electricity, which could make a big difference," van der Gaag said.

It basically means: don't charge your car or wash your clothes on a cloudy windless day, but wait a bit for the wind to pick up and the clouds to disperse.

According to rough estimates, this could help reduce overall gas use by a few percentage points. Not enough to solve the problem, but it could have a "big impact", van der Gaag says, on peak demand, reducing stress on the electricity grid.

The Dutch government, not yet an official partner, has expressed interest in helping the project expand. The NVDE is considering plans to increase the weekly coverage to a daily update with localised notifications. Inclusion in the daily national weather forecast would be "ideal" van der Gaag said.

A similar initiative, Ecowatt, was launched in France in 2020, but as prices began to rise over the summer has become much more popular. Forecasts are given daily instead of weekly.

The French plan however is not geared towards saving gas per se but is motivated by an acute worry for winter power cuts, as 26 of its 56 nuclear reactors are offline after cracks and corrosion were discovered in pipes used to cool reactor cores.

If grid operator RTE foresees an electricity shortage, it will launch an 'Ecowatt red alert' three days in advance to call on users to reduce consumption.

'Sobriety plan'

Although the plans differ in the details, both appeal to the power of collective action to help fight the energy crunch.

Ecowatt is part of a nationwide "sobriety plan," French president Emmanuel Macron announced in July, with the objective "to smooth out the peaks."

"We must collectively enter into a logic of sobriety," he said. This differs from individual measures like insulating homes, which save money but lack the collective element.

Although it can help lower costs for households with variable contracts, that's not the point. "It doesn't substantially reduce cost for people individually, but it's a sort of collective 'fuck you' to Putin, and it does help speed up the transition to cleaner energy," van der Gaag said.

Although the commission has not officially embraced the initiatives, all the information is available and can be "copy-pasted" for free by others, van der Gaag said.

"It engenders a paradigm shift that I think we need," he said. "We expect people to reduce consumption. This gives them the means to do so collectively."

EU is 'close to the solution' on gas price cap

The outcome of the two-day meeting of EU leaders did not deliver any clear agreement on whether and how to limit gas prices — but some believe EU ministers will agree on emergency measures in the coming weeks.

Analysis

Is the ECB sabotaging Europe's Green Deal?

The European Central Bank (ECB) recently raised interest rates to the highest point in the currency's 21-year existence — but the effects of its policies on renewables are badly understood.

Analysis

Is the ECB sabotaging Europe's Green Deal?

The European Central Bank (ECB) recently raised interest rates to the highest point in the currency's 21-year existence — but the effects of its policies on renewables are badly understood.

Opinion

How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?

The EU Commission's new magic formula for avoiding scrutiny is simple. You declare the documents in question to be "short-lived correspondence for a preliminary exchange of views" and thus exempt them from being logged in the official inventory.

Latest News

  1. EU demands 'full clarity' from Warsaw on visa-scandal
  2. EU reveals 10 'critical tech' in bid to de-risk from China
  3. EU Commission at a loss over latest snub from Tunisia
  4. Northern Europe — the new Nato/Russia frontline
  5. The EU-Kenya free trade deal shows a waning 'Brussels effect'
  6. Hoekstra pledges to phase-out fossil fuel subsidies
  7. 10 years on from the Lampedusa shipwreck — what's changed?
  8. EU ministers go to Kyiv to downplay fears on US, Slovak aid

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  2. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
  2. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  3. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  4. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us