Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

Power traders in Europe need to be able to buy and sell electricity as close to real time as possible so they can balance positions when weather forecasts change at the last minute, according to the European Union.

Flexible trading is essential to integrate ample power produced from sun and wind into the market without distorting prices, the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said in its energy and climate package published Wednesday. A project to create an EU-wide intraday trading platform has been delayed and is now scheduled for 2017.

Europe aims to increase the share of electricity produced by renewables to 50 percent by 2030 from 25 percent now. The commission says the bloc’s power markets need to be redesigned to take account of unpredictable green-energy flows and to stabilize grids and supply. To help distribute renewable power, Europe needs more cables to carry electricity across borders, the commission said.

The commission’s plan reflects a move “away from the era of large-scale, centralized power plants to a decentralized world,” Arnaud Coibion, Brussels-based energy partner at law firm Linklaters LLP, said by e-mail. The goal is more regional development and interconnection, he said.

German power traders can already buy and sell electricity to be delivered in 15-minute periods as little as 30 minutes before delivery on Epex Spot SE. Intraday markets in other nations are less developed and less liquid.