EU electricity market design issues and solutions for increased RES penetration

The transition towards a low carbon economy means an ever increasing role for Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), greater efficiency and electrification of transport and other sectors. With the expansion of DERs, electricity storage, Electric Vehicles (EVs) and the advancement of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the end-customers will have a more meaningful role and new opportunities for participation in the electricity market. DERs increases the overall fluctuations of electricity generation and puts additional pressure on an electricity system designed for conventional generators. This paper gives a brief overview of the European Union (EU) electricity market, discusses some of the most pressing challenges currently experienced and briefly discusses the changes that are needed to evolve the electricity market. Finally, this paper also briefly discusses a few solutions and promising technologies that can be employed to tackle these challenges and attract the end-customer to be a more active market participant.