Are Renewables Losing Grid Priority in Europe?

The European Commission’s ”leaked” plan to end the “priority dispatch” for renewable energy in electricity grids is set to harm investments in European wind and solar power systems to the tune of billions of Euros, according to European industry initiative EU ProSun. 

According to an article published in the Guardian newspaper on 1 November, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy is preparing an amendment to the Renewable Energy Directive, which will pare back the priority dispatch – a system which prioritises solar and wind energy being fed into the power grid over other energy sources such as coal or nuclear electricity.

Apart from hurting the investments, paring back the priority dispatch would also make EU renewable energy commitments and the Paris climate goals unachievable, EU ProSun said.

“The priority dispatch is a central pillar of the energy revolution. If this priority were to be scrapped, coal and nuclear power could block the grid and access of solar and wind power. By prioritising fossil fuel power plants, we will lose any possibility of achieving climate goals in Europe and globally. The EU is effectively axing its energy and climate goals by choosing to cut the priority dispatch for renewable energies,” said Milan Nitzschke, President of EU ProSun.

German Vice-Chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, has expressed his strong opposition to the European Commission recently, stating it is important for Europe to maintain the priority dispatch for renewable energies.

The elimination of the feed-in priority would lead directly to investment uncertainty said EU ProSun.