Sector integration is the most important concept for the 2019-2024 energy policy. It highlights the challenge of stepping up our decarbonization efforts to a level where no sector can manage alone. Finnish Energy and Trinomics brought together a wide range of stakeholders in Brussels to discuss the benefits and barriers of sector integration. The workshop focused on sector coupling, decarbonization of heating and the Energy Union governance as a tool to promote sector integration.
Finnish Energy welcomes the European Commission’s plan to look how to integrate electricity, heating, transport and industry. The sectors should be developed together to provide flexibility and storage in order to accommodate more renewable energy in the system while maintaining security of supply and competitiveness. The equation quickly becomes complex and it is thus evident that primary policy should be to have a well-functioning markets and right incentives to see this next phase unfolding. We see especially that the district heating and cooling systems can provide cost efficient energy storage and flexibility in cities where it is desperately needed.
The roundtable discussion had participants representing the European commission, the gas industry, district heating sector, power and heat producers and energy markets. The workshop report is an analysis of the topics that were under discussion and it is based on the expertise of Trinomics. The report also concludes with policy recommendations. These recommendations provide a basis for further work and more detailed discussions. The report does not represent a consensus among the participants.
