Market events in Europe

[Robbie Morrison]

Hello all, a couple of recent events in Europe caught my attention.  For those modeling the place.

France may exit the European Electricity Market

Paul Taylor writes yesterday in The Guardian (Taylor 2024):

"the RN’s [French National Rally] avowed plans to withdraw from the EU electricity market"

That will be interesting.  There is a widespread perception in France that the French nuclear fleet produces cheap power and that exposure to the European electricity market drives up domestic prices substantially.  This dynamic is apparently amplified by the now complete withdrawal from nuclear power (Atomausstieg) by neighboring Germany.  The fact that half the French nuclear fleet was recently offline due to welding defects and that, at one stage, output was constrained by uncharacteristically low river flows (Hirth 2022) seems to have escaped notice.  The massive cross-subsidies provided by the state to civil nuclear generation are also not recognized, nor the decommissioning legacy soon to be faced.  Most domestic space heating in France is resistance heating so few other systems to fall back in the event of power cuts.

Any withdrawal by France from the EEM means that EEM will doubtless not be obligated to provide power or ancillary services to the French electricity system, including under the adverse circumstances just outlined.

New dedicated interconnector between the United Kingdom and Germany

The United Kingdom has remained in the European Electricity Market despite Brexit. (Indeed, I've not noticed this facet mentioned once by commentators in the years since the Brexit referendum).

Construction recently started on a new 1.4GW HVDC undersea interconnect, named NeuConnect of length 720km, between the United Kingdom and Germany (McGovan 2024).  Entirely under private finance.  Meridiam from France is a key investor, as it happens.

with best wishes, Robbie

References

Hirth, Lion (1 July 2022). "Die zweite Krise: Frankreichs Kernenergie" ["The second crisis: France's nuclear power"] (in German). Tagesspiegel Background Energie & Klima.

McGovan, Jack (21 May 2024). Construction on major North Sea powerline to UK begins in Germany. Clean Energy Wire. Berlin, Germany.

Staff (22 July 2022). First Germany-UK interconnector reaches financial close. Offshore.

Taylor, Paul (1 July 2024). "In France, it's now only a matter of time before the far right takes power". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. ISSN 0261-3077.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeuConnect

-- 
Robbie Morrison
Address: Schillerstrasse 85, 10627 Berlin, Germany
Phone: +49.30.612-87617

[Gjalt Huppes]

Dear Robbie,

France is blocking the North South HVDC line from Spain. They agreed, however, on a hydrogen pipeline, cheap solar-based, from Spain to Marseille, possibly linked to Germany: 

Ref: https://h2medproject.com/the-h2med-project/#:~:text=BarMar%3A%20linking%20Spain%20and%20France,%2C%20near%20Marseille%20(France).

UK is considering an HVDC connection directly to Morocco: 

Ref: https://www.power-technology.com/projects/morocco-uk-power-project-morocco/?cf-view

Better to have private 'robbers' than public resistance and inaction?

To have a well-organized European Supergrid, part of an overall well-designed low-emission grid with adequate markets, that would be preferable.

Gjalt

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See my book on Climate Policy Instrumentation:

https://www.routledge.com/Strategic-Designs-for-Climate-Policy-Instrumentation-Governance-at-the/Huppes/p/book/9781138696303

Gjalt Huppes
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