InGrid - Integration of Power Transmission Grids (completed)

Researching Integration of Power Transmission Grids - Prospects and Challenges at National and European Levels in advancing the energy transition

Power lines in a summer landscape with clear sky

Photo: colorbox.com

About the project

As Europe's energy transition moves towards increasingly higher shares of variable renewable energy, there is a growing need for conjointly transforming the electricity transmission grid. This transformation includes grid expansion, e.g. for connecting offshore wind parks or entire national grids, but also the development of new transmission technologies. For Norway, further European integration of power transmission is of particular importance for efficient use of the country's vast renewable energy sources and marketing them in the European electricity market, and thus for long-term value creation.

It is widely agreed that transmission infrastructure policy, investment and transformation are significantly lagging behind changes in electricity supply across Europe, and that this tension between interdependent domains threatens to constrain the energy transition. Key challenges include coordination across different countries and actors, ill-aligned regulatory regimes, lack of industry competences and systemic uncertainties.

Technological developments in the field of power transmission are confronted with national (Norway, UK, Germany) and European level studies on (transmission) policy regimes and in-depth analyses of industry actors. To provide a better understanding of these particular challenges and the energy transition in general, the project applies a multi-disciplinary approach, combining analytical frameworks from innovation system and transition studies with concepts from political sciences and industry analyses.

Full project description (pdf)

Objectives

InGrid has three main objectives:

The primary objective of this project is to generate new knowledge about the institutional, technological, and economical, challenges related to the transformation of transmission power grids across Europe to make way for greater energy systems integration that, in turn, can facilitate longterm, sustainable restructuring of European countries' energy systems, efficient use of renewable energy sources, power system flexibility, and further increasing the shares of renewable energy. This new knowledge is useful for informing decision makers in policy and industry in a time of farreaching change in European power systems.

The second objective is to improve our theoretical understanding of both transnational governance challenges and technological complementarities for socio-technical transitions.

The third objective is to understand the current performance and ongoing transformation in the field of power transmission technology.

Financing

InGrid is financed by the Norwegian Research Council through the ENERGIX programme, Project number 243994/E20

Cooperation

  • The Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education - NIFU
  • CICERO Center for International Climate and Environmental Research
  • The University of Edinburgh
  • Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

 

Publications

Andersen, A. D., & Markard, J. (2017). Innovating incumbents and technological complementarities: How recent dynamics in the HVDC industry can inform transition theories. TIK Working papers on Innovation Studies. Centre for Technology, Innovation, and Culture. Oslo, Norway.

Bolton, R., Lagendijk, V., & Silvast, A. (2018). Grand visions and pragmatic integration: Exploring the evolution of Europe’s electricity regime. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2018.04.001

Lindberg, M. B., Markard, J., & Andersen, A. D. (2018). Policies, actors and sustainability transition pathways: A study of the EU’s energy policy mix. Research Policy, in press.

Markard, J. (2018). The next phase of the energy transition and its implications for research and policy. Nature Energy, 3(8), 628-633. doi:10.1038/s41560-018-0171-7

Markard, J., & Hoffmann, V. H. (2016). Analysis of complementarities: Framework and examples from the energy transition. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 111, 63-75. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.06.008

Schlaile, M., Urmetzer, S., Blok, V., Andersen, A., Timmermans, J., Mueller, M., . . . Pyka, A. (2017). Innovation Systems for Transformations towards Sustainability? Taking the Normative Dimension Seriously. Sustainability, 9(12), 2253.

Silvast, A., Bolton, R., Lagendijk, V., & Szulecki, K. (2018). Crossing Borders: Social Sciences and Humanities Perspectives on European Energy Systems Integration. In C. Foulds & R. Robison (Eds.), Advancing Energy Policy: Lessons on the integration of Social Sciences and Humanities (pp. 97-110). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

  • Lindberg, Marie Byskov (2022). The power of power markets: Zonal market designs in advancing energy transitions. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. ISSN 2210-4224. 45, p. 132–153. doi: 10.1016/j.eist.2022.08.004.
  • Andersen, Allan Dahl & Andersen, Per Dannemand (2017). Foresighting for inclusive development. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. ISSN 0040-1625. 119, p. 227–236. doi: 10.1016/j.techfore.2016.06.007. Full text in Research Archive

View all works in Cristin

  • Leiren, Merethe Dotterud; Szulecki, Kacper; Banet, Catherine & Rayner, Tim (2018). Black-out concerns against markets: Capacity mechanisms in European electricity markets.
  • Leiren, Merethe Dotterud (2017). Plassering av kapasitetsmekanismer i scenariene.
  • Leiren, Merethe Dotterud (2017). Capacity mechanisms in European electricity markets.

View all works in Cristin

Published Sep. 4, 2015 11:21 AM - Last modified Sep. 30, 2022 9:50 AM

Contact

For questions and information please contact project coordinator Allan Dahl Andersen.