OEE joins lobbying campaign for small-scale renewables

Ocean Energy Europe (OEE) has joined other European energy associations in the call to policy makers to take a step-wise approach towards the market integration of small-scale renewable and high efficiency cogeneration installations.

While the European institutions are negotiating the recast of the Electricity Market Design Regulation, the signatories of the declaration have today launched the ‘Small Is Beautiful’ campaign, aimed at highlighting the benefits of small-scale, clean and locally owned installations to move progressively towards a decentralized energy system.

These benefits are, according to OEE, threatened by the European Parliament’s current proposal requiring all power generators to be ‘balancing responsible’ and the blanket removal of priority dispatch.

Small-scale renewable and high efficiency cogeneration installations are generally run by private consumers, households, communities, farmers, cooperatives or SMEs and benefit the local economy.

However, the European power markets are mostly not yet ‘fit’ for small installations, and removing the balancing responsibility exemptions and priority dispatch will result in disproportionate costs and technical and administrative burdens, according to OEE.

In this regard, the signatories of the declaration urge policy makers to maintain priority dispatch and the exemption of balancing responsibilities for small scale renewable and highly efficient cogeneration installations.

Rémi Gruet, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe, said: “To accelerate the energy transition, investor risk needs to be reduced. Exemptions to balancing responsibility and maintaining priority dispatch go a long way in achieving this. All the more so for demonstration projects for innovative technologies: the lower the risk, the faster they can be taken to market.”

James Watson, CEO of SolarPower Europe, added: “Small installations empower territories, small businesses, and consumers. When it comes to solar, they are also the biggest job providers. We must reflect on the energy transition we want to see emerging in Europe.”

Rather than encouraging the participation of consumers or SMEs in the energy transition, the current proposals on the table would act as a disincentive, OEE said.

A balanced approach is key to enable the advent of an increasingly distributed energy system, empowering energy consumers and contributing to the economic and social dynamism of local communities and small businesses, the organizations have said.