Energy as a commons?

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Energy as a commons? With paradigms new markets and opportunities arising with digitalising in the energy sector and democratising means of production and distribution, how can regulation be designed in such a way that energy systems these markets are equitable and ensure participation across society?

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The Past: Distributing energy the traditional way

• The traditional power grid
• production - transmission - distribution - consumer
• Electricity takes over other forms of energy (electric cars etc.)
• Russia-EU relations etc. increase uncertainty
• Current European Energy facilities will have to be modernised soon
• Energy trading taking over
• More and more people are installing solar panels on their own

The Future: Smart grids - an outlook to what is possible

The economic dimension

• more efficieny through smart grids

The societal dimension

• consumers become co-producers
• "energy literacy" goes up

The technological dimension

• both electricity and information are exchanged

The environmental dimension

• pushing decarbonisation
• Consumers more likely to install renewable sources of energy (e.g. solar panels)

The Present: Obstacles to be adressed

How can passive consumers turn into active prosumers? How are EU citizens currently involved in large-scale EU projects such as Connecting Europe Facility?

Questions to be answered in the resolution How can consumers be turned into prosumers? How will power grids, distributed energy etc. be regulated? Who will manage the grid? Should renewable energy sources be in the focus?

The Actors: Who is involved

• EU Commission & DG on Energy
• Member States’ energy ministries and distribution systems
• Connecting Europe Facility
• EU citizens as “prosumers”

Measures in Place: What has been done

What sources of knowledge are there currently for EU citizens to look into? What are microgrids and how do they work?

Clean Energy Package

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-16-3986_en.htm http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-16-3961_en.htm https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/energy-union-and-climate_en

SET-Plan

The European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan) aims to accelerate the development and deployment of low-carbon technologies. It seeks to improve new technologies and bring down costs by coordinating national research efforts and helping to finance projects.

TEN-E

The Trans-European Energy Networks (TEN-E) – are programmes set up by the EU for the implementation of the European Single Market. The Trans-European Networks aim at "linking island, landlocked and peripheral regions with the central regions of the community”.

Links for further Research

• https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/energy-as-a-common-good/2017/02/22
• http://energyandcarbon.com/digitalisation-energy-implications/