IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - July/August 2016 - 79

However, the transition to low-carbon energy generation in Europe faces several challenges, such as the further
deployment of electricity transmission capacities and new
requirements for grid architecture. The existing European
energy transmission infrastructure was designed to satisfy
the needs of the fossil-fuel energy generation when energy
sources were located near to energy consumption areas.
Today, the new grid architecture has to integrate volatile and
intermittent energy coming from RES located in different
geographic areas, such as solar in the south of Europe and
offshore wind in the north of Europe.
The need for the further deployment of electricity transmission grids is reflected in the Grid Development Plan 2013
and the European Commission Green Paper toward a secure,
sustainable, and competitive European energy network. The
commission proposal on guidelines for trans-European energy
infrastructure calls for an urgent need for new power lines for
three reasons: 1) foster market integration, 2) maintain a high
level of system security, and 3) transport and balance electricity generated from renewable sources. Around 42,000 km of
transmissions lines need to be upgraded or constructed in the
European Union to secure market integration, security of supply, and accommodate the renewable expansion planned for
2020, and the 2030 goals would require event a higher number.

✔

✔

✔

Social Challenges
Currently, public opposition to the planned electricity infrastructure projects is a major barrier for further deployment.
When the existing EU electricity transmission infrastructure
was settled, public attitudes toward infrastructure projects
were different than today. Fifty years ago, the infrastructure
was regarded as a driver of socioeconomic growth, which was
needed to increase the well-being of society. The traditional
energy system had the goal of providing energy at the least
possible cost and aspects such as impact on the environment
and the interests of separate communities and people living
in the vicinity of the energy generation projects were only of
secondary importance. Current public attitudes, influenced
by technological accidents and changed risks perceptions,
are different, and there is opposition to infrastructure projects. Today the public is not only concerned by electricity
generation at the least possible cost and the reliability of the
energy supply but also by the impact on the environment
and compatibility with goals of sustainable development.
The view of the energy architecture is also changing with
the availability of decentralized energy generation and the
growing importance of renewable energy generation.
Based on available literature about public and social
opposition to infrastructure projects, we classified all concerns into five groups: need, transparency, engagement,
environment, and benefit.
✔ Need implies a clear understanding and acceptance of the
need of the project by stakeholders. It also includes linking the need for new infrastructure to problems, which
this infrastructure can address. The need of the project
80

ieee power & energy magazine

✔

is also discussed in light of the measures on energy efficiency or other options such as decentralized energy generation as well as discussion on the corridor alternatives.
Transparency is required in all aspects of the project
as well as planning procedures, including information
about which technology will be used and why and
who will be carrying costs and benefits of the project:
what stakeholders are involved and what will be the
economic, environmental, and health impacts. It also
includes concerns about how transparent the decisionmaking process is, if information is available, and it
is clear and understandable on the risks and benefits
of the project, regulatory procedures, stakeholders
involved, and possibilities for engagement.
Engagement implies the involvement of stakeholders,
whose knowledge might be beneficial for implementing the project with least possible impacts on human
health and environment, into decision-making processes about infrastructure. It also implies concerns
about the optimum time for engagement (not too late
and not too early), how feedback from stakeholders
was implemented in making decisions about the project, if there were alternatives to discuss, if feedback
changed anything, and about voices being heard.
Environment foresees the implementation of actions to
minimize impacts of infrastructure on human health
such as electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs), on landscape such as visibility effects, or on the environment
such as biodiversity.
Benefit includes the sharing of the benefits of infrastructure with those who had to make compromises
and carried the costs of infrastructure, such as visibility impacts. It also goes beyond compensation for sacrifices to make the entire community a more attractive
and better place to live.

BestGrid Approach
The BestGrid approach is an innovative approach to contribute to greater public acceptance of deployment of highvoltage (HV) electricity transmission grids. This approach
is based on the principles of the European Grid Declaration
(EGD), which requires the deployment of electricity grids
with possible minimum impacts on nature. This approach
was also formulated in the EGD on Electricity Network
Development and Nature Conservation in Europe, which
defines a set of principles on how to build power lines without harming nature. The declaration was developed under the
guidance of the Renewables Grid Initiative (RGI) secretariat
and signed by more than 30 large institutions across Europe.
The approach foresees involvement of additional stakeholders, such as environmental nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs), into decision-making processes about infrastructure
deployment. It establishes frames for cooperation between
NGOs and transmission service operators (TSOs) on the
development of plans for public acceptance and environment
july/august 2016



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