Harnessing EU legal concepts for the energy transition on islands

Romain Mauger, Lea Diestelmeier*, C.T. Nieuwenhout

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

12 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The European Commission plans to achieve the decarbonization of dozens of European Union (EU) islands by 2030. This would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower the dependency of islands on imported fuels, and potentially reduce local energy prices. At the same time, it may accelerate the mainland’s own energy transition through the import of surplus energy from renewable sources, the provision of aggregated flexibility services, and the testing of both technologies and policies on islands for replication and adaptation on the continent. Although islands are not even a legal category per se in EU energy law, the existing legal framework already allows to harness various concepts to foster the energy transition of EU islands. This article reviews available legal qualifications and regimes such as small systems’ exemptions, energy communities, positive energy districts, and local flexibility markets in the context of the decarbonization of EU islands. Potentially, they could open many different ways to tailor local energy transitions, channelling local actions to accelerate the whole process.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)167-183
Number of pages17
JournalJournal of World Energy Law & Business
Volume17
Issue number3
Early online date15-Mar-2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun-2024

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Harnessing EU legal concepts for the energy transition on islands'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this