ENTSOG TYNDP 2017 - Main Report

7.1 Introduction

The European gas transmission network has seen decades of investment and development in order to provide a safe and reliable energy system for a wide variety of end users, offering a high level of market integration across the continent. Some further investment is required to enable the realisation of the EU Energy Union principles, for example allowing for supply diversification in some areas and therefore preventing dependence to a limited number of sources plus increasing competition. However, TYNDP assessment shows that the European gas infrastructure is not only able to accommodate contrasted supply mixes on an annual basis, but would also be resilient to a peak demand situation for a variety of possible demand scenarios. The European Commission Energy Strategy intends to provide secure, competitive and sustainable energy, with policies driven by three main objectives: \\ Secure energy supplies to ensure the reliable provision of energy whenever and wherever needed \\ Energy providers operate in a competitive environment that ensures affordable prices for households, businesses and industries \\ Energy consumption to be sustainable, through the lowering of greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and fossil fuel dependence This forms the basis of the EU energy transition and has included key energy strat- egy  1) targets for 2020, 2030 and 2050 (more information is available in the Demand Chapter) which focus on the reduction of greenhouse gases, energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy in EU consumption. The European ambitions for 2050 will have a significant impact on the energy sector, with a target of an 80 to 95% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990. There are also worldwide influences, such as the Paris Agreement at COP21 that came into force on 4 November 2016, which has the aim of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit this even further to 1.5 degrees. The European gas transmission network, and gas as a fuel source, already plays a key role in achieving these targets and has the potential to continue contributing in the near-term and long-term. It offers flexibility to intermittent renewables and a lower carbon alternative to coal-fired power generation, along with season energy storage and the transmission of carbon neutral gas. TYNDP 2017 covers the next twenty years and contains three scenarios that reach the 2030 targets by following different paths. This shows that there are multiple solutions to reaching the EU goals. ENTSOG wants to highlight those solutions that involve more efficient use of existing infrastructure, which as a result could provide a cost effective way of decar- bonising. This Energy Transition sub-chapter offers some insight into how current gas infra- structure can be an essential part of the future energy system, through both the implementation of existing technologies and the innovative development of carbon neutral gas technologies. These technologies, could offer substantial benefits in reducing GHG emissions very efficiently and therefore deserve thorough considera- tion. The benefits will best materialise in an integrated energy system based on sector coupling.

 1) https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/energy-strategy

Ten-Year Network Development Plan 2017 Main Report |

243