Europe's electricity grids must be massively expanded to achieve integration of large shares of renewable energy. For instance, by 2050, Italy's electricity grids must be expanded by 170 percent over present levels so that power can be transmitted from future renewable power generation sites in the south to the centers of demand in northern Italy.

This is just one example of the results from the regional studies of the EU project SUSPLAN, which have now been presented. The project is investigating energy systems in nine European regions up to 2050 with four different scenarios for large-scale integration of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency beyond current EU targets. The Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) - the German Energy Agency - is one of 16 SUSPLAN project partners from 12 countries.

While the results of the studies clearly show that massive long-term expansion of electricity grids is necessary in many European regions, the situation with gas grids is quite different: Energy-efficient homes are capable of bringing about a distinct reduction in demand for heating and thus also for gas. This would indicate that no major expansion of gas grids is required. For example in Spain, household gas demand will be substantially lower than anticipated from 2020. No further expansion of gas infrastructure will therefore be required after 2020. The situation is similar in Austria, where declining household gas demand will mean that no expansion of gas infrastructure will be required after 2030.

Developing energy systems is a long-term process. This is why SUSPLAN project partners are developing appropriate strategies for the 2030 to 2050 period. By taking an integrated approach, electricity, gas and heat infrastructure are treated holistically. If large amounts of renewable resources are to be integrated by 2050, it is necessary to begin reorganizing energy systems today. In the following, also trans-national infrastructures for electricity and gas are analysed. All results of the EU project SUSPLAN will be presented at an international conference on Dec. 7 in Berlin.