ESCP Europe Alumni Magazine - n°147 - Mars/Avril 2013 - 18

FoCus

By Félix VON DER SCHULENBURG (04)

At the edge
of a new age

Power is a backbone to modern society and business according to
Félix SCHULENBURG in charge of Regional Coordination at E.ON in Düsseldorf.

Power industry
In Europe we are very much used to the availability of a basic comfort as heat and light at any
time. This is not only relevant to our private lives
but as well to production facilities. Even though
electricity obviously comes from power sockets;
there is much more a high-tech industry behind
it which ensures a constant equilibrium of supply
and demand. Power needs to be produced in the
millisecond of its demand as until today storage
facilities remain very limited. To meet all needs a
sustainable energy supply requires a balanced mix
of environmental protection, security of supply and
affordable prices. In the past, large utilities have
managed supply and demand in Europe. Countries
as France and Germany have based their supply
mainly on central nuclear or conventional power
plants close to the areas of demand. Power grid
infrastructure has rather been built to supply areas
around these sites than for large distant transports.
Nevertheless a combined European grid infrastructure (UCTE) was implemented to manage power
supply and demand across country boundaries.
While security of supply and price have been the
major focus to support industrial development,
especially in Germany the discussions in society
have recently asked for a stronger focus on the
environmental aspects.
Opportunities and risks
In the past two years disruptive changes have significantly impacted the industry. New upstream
production abilities have changed commodity
markets. An optimization of shale gas exploration
turned the US from one of the largest importers
to an exporter. Suddenly, there was no longer a

- ESCP Europe Magazine N° 147 - Mars/Avril 2013

resource issue in the gas sector which might
stabilize worldwide prices. But beside the direct
impact on the environment (chemicals are used
to extract gas from shale) it has as well lowered
the interest of countries to participate in CO2
reduction initiatives as the Kyoto Protocol. One
of the reasons why CO2-Certificates prices have
dropped close to zero and lost importance for
investment decisions. Investments based on calculations with higher CO2 prices have lost their
competiveness, while CO2 emitting sites remain
in the money.
The development of new decentralized power
production facilities in distributed generation
(e.g. solar, wind, biomass plants) has opened
opportunities but as well challenges the existing
energy world. Especially in Germany we find
many production sites /e.g. wind) far away from
consumption points. This has opened discussion
on new infrastructure projects and the development of storage facilities. Beside these challenges, power industry faces a significant challenge
in the management of power transmission as
power insourcing has become more irregular
and difficult to plan. At the same time industry
faces an interesting change in its relationship to
its customer. Former consumers develop to prosumers, feeding their own produced energy into
the power grid and becoming supplier instead of
demander. A radical change in self-conception
waiting for new forms of cooperation and offering
opportunities such as the bundling of such customers in virtual power plants.
The way forward is still unclear but it definitively
offers new business models and players, large
opportunities but as well risks. A well balanced
relationship between environmental protection, security of supply and price is to be found again. ●

Table des matières de la publication ESCP Europe Alumni Magazine - n°147 - Mars/Avril 2013

Couverture
Zapping
Sommaire
BUSINESS
Personnalités du mois Didier CORDERO (EEMBA 96) : Donner de l’énergie
Focus
- The global energy map
- At the edge of a new age
- Le futur énergétique
- Sustainable cities
- La performance énergétique
- Offshore wind farms
- A change of attitude
- Indian challenges
Itinéraires
- Joaillerie sur mesure
- Tous les chemins mènent à l’énergie
Entretiens Agro-alimentaire
NEWS
Vie du réseau
- Fany PECHIODAT (01 BE), Fondatrice de My Little Paris
- Nominations
- Bon anniversaire !
- Les fauves de la 57
- Carnet
- Passation de relais
- Agenda
À lire
Carrière Énergie managériale : ressource vitale ?
Voyages Chutes Victoria : le premier matin du monde
CAMPUS
École Entering a new era of the energy industry
Fondation Merci pour votre soutien !
Vie étudiante
- cHeer uP ! souffle ses 10 bougies
- Nous voulons l’Europe
- Sur la ligne de départ
- Un avenir où vous allez bien tourner !
- Faire renaître le théâtre

ESCP Europe Alumni Magazine - n°147 - Mars/Avril 2013