The current high-speed deployment rate of non-programmable Renewable Energy Sources (RES) is making transmission network planning activities more and more complex and affected by a high level of uncertainty. Because network investments are capital intensive and the lifetime of the infrastructure spans several decades, it may happen that when a new line is commissioned it is no longer the best option and it might be partially regarded as a stranded cost. There is an on-going debate on the selection of the more effective technologies that could contribute to system flexibility. This category doesn’t only include grid technologies, but also storage elements and flexible demand, both located in transmission or provided by opportunely aggregated distributed energy sources located in distribution networks. FlexPlanning aims at creating a new tool for optimizing transmission and distribution grid planning, considering the placement of flexibility elements as an alternative to traditional grid planning. This approach aims at helping to reduce overall power system costs i.e. infrastructure deployment and operation costs, the latter in terms of procurement of energy and system services. FlexPlan is going to take into account environmental impact and footprint (impact on air quality for thermal generation, carbon footprint, impact on landscape of new T&D lines). A pre-processing tool is also created to determine location, size and associated costs for storage and flexible demand candidates. The new planning tool is first validated and then used for analysing six detailed regional scenarios at 2030-2040-2050 in order to assess the potential role of storage and flexible resources. Pan-European scenarios are preliminarily elaborated in order to provide border conditions for the regional cases. Regulatory conclusions are drawn to analyse whether opportune incentivisation procedures could be put in place by the regulators wherever some consistent advantages are demonstrated.

The European submarine networks are vital critical infrastructure for the EU member states. This submarine cable and pipeline network is crucial for the European society and any failure or damage to it could potentially have an enormous effect on the societies. Due to the rapidly evolving threat and geopolitical landscape, especially with incidents like the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas infrastructure, organizations overseeing critical infrastructure face significant challenges. They must handle intentional threats while also grappling with growing problems caused by accidental and natural factors as well as climate change. These issues can worsen the effects of deliberate actions. To address these challenges effectively, it is crucial for these entities to implement resilience-enhancing measures. The aim of VIGIMARE is to strengthen the resilience of Critical Infrastructure operators against threats to the European submarine critical infrastructure by developing, testing and evaluating an innovative solution to enhance security and reduce risks of physical and cyber-attacks on submarine cables and pipelines. This will be accomplished by 1) mapping submarine systems, surveying cables and landing stations, and assessing vulnerabilities in the European submarine critical infrastructure network, 2) develop an automated threat detection approach, creating a real-time shared awareness of the surface above the submarine infrastructure to promptly indicate incidents to both critical infrastructure owners and member states authorities. By integrating a comprehensive resilience ecosystem with real incidents at sea, the project seeks to 3) identify early warning signals, support analysis, and pinpoint potential response activities to address physical, cyber and hybrid threats. The result will be enhanced resilience for submarine critical infrastructure owners, supporting authorities to enforce the CER and NIS2 directives implementation in the EU member states.

The increased shares of renewable energy, combined with the rise in distributed generation are profoundly impacting electricity markets and the demand for system flexibility and business models of traditional utilities and distribution companies. This requires a rethinking of the way power sector markets are designed and operated as well as a timely and efficient adaptation of traditional market and operational mechanisms. The recent created clean energy legislation requires that Electricity Markets are created with “active customers/consumers and citizens” and “energy communities”. This new legislation asks for enhanced roles of DSOs and TSOs, particularly for a better coordination among stakeholders, procurement of ancillary services, flexibility, data management and integration of Electric Vehicles and must adapt network access and congestion tariffs & charges (flexibility). Markets must encourage the development of more flexible generation and demand and the elimination of obstacles to market-based pricing, remove regulatory distortions, enable scarcity pricing, interconnection, Demand Side Response and storage. Final customers must be enabled to buy electricity generation from aggregated, multiple power-generating facilities or load from multiple demand response facilities to provide joint offers on the electricity market and be jointly operated in the electricity system. Citizens must be offered competitive prices. BeFlexible aims at increasing energy system flexibility, enhancing cooperation among DSOs and TSOs and easing participation of all energy-related actors through the validation and large-scale demonstration of adapted and proven cross-sectoral services, interoperable platforms for smart grids operation developing further already demonstrated solutions and the creation of required system architecture framework to enable the creation of new business models providing additional value to meet consumers’ needs in compliance with a stable regulatory framework.