Seminar GELR: microgrids

On Wednesday March 23 (16:00 - 17:00), the Groningen Centre for Empirical Legal Research will organize a seminar on 'microgrids' with Jamie Behrendt. Location of the meeting is 1315.0042.

Jamie Behrendt is a PhD at the Groningen Centre of Energy Law and Sustainability. She commenced her work as a PhD researcher at the University of Groningen in August 2021. Within the PhD, she empirically assesses how micro electricity grids should be regulated in the European Union in a way that maximizes legal certainty in the electricity sector to make an effective and efficient contribution to the energy transition.

During the meeting there will be room for questions and discussion.

We hope to see you all!

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More information about the topic:

As part of the European Green Deal, the European Union (EU) aims to be climate neutral by 2050: net emissions of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere by that time should be zero. This is only achievable if all actors responsible for emitting GHG act towards this aim, including electricity consumers. However, the aging centralised electricity grid has difficulties facilitating the needed innovation and effectively integrating renewable energy sources. By promoting the use of decentralised electricity systems, such as micro electricity grids, electricity users can more actively participate in the electricity market and contribute to the energy transition.

Microgrids are small-scale decentralised electricity systems which, among other things, can help to manage the efficient integration of renewable energy. This can increase the share of renewable energy in the electricity mix. Furthermore, within a microgrid, electricity consumers are encouraged to participate in the energy market, as a microgrid allows consumers (buyers) and producers (sellers) to engage in electricity transactions. Such transactions lead to mutual welfare gains to the extent that transaction costs do not outweigh their benefits. However, this is determined by the legal framework, which is currently not existing in the EU.

As microgrids don’t exist in EU law, the full potential of microgrids to contribute to the energy transition cannot unfold. The main question in this research focuses on how microgrids should be regulated in the EU in a way that minimizes transaction costs to make an effective and efficient contribution to the energy transition. This will be answered by combining a doctrinal and empirical assessment. The doctrinal analysis focuses on the possibilities of integrating microgrids in the existing legal framework, and the empirical analysis will examine how the lack of regulation for microgrids results in uncertainty and increases transaction costs.