Escaping the energy straitjacket

Europe’s split grid infrastructure and lack of central planning mean it fails to use its renewables. It is stuck in volatile prices driven by reliance on imported fossil fuels. Treating the system as one network rather than separate national grids would unlock PV, storage and wind, says Christian Kjaer, executive director at Supergrid Europe.

By

Christian Kjaer

24 Jun 2026

Although Europe has accelerated renewables and diversified its gas supplies since the shock caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it is still spending twice as much on gas, much of it now imported from Qatar. | Photo: Matthew T Rader/Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-SA

Europe’s split grid infrastructure and lack of central planning mean it fails to use its renewables. It is stuck in volatile prices driven by reliance on imported fossil fuels. Treating the system as one network rather than separate national grids would unlock PV, storage and wind, says Christian Kjaer, executive director at Supergrid Europe. For …

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