Microgeneration Outlook - Design for Micro-Combined Cooling, Heating and Power Systems - page 12

Fig. 12 Evolution and projection of world energy demand [ 36 ]

of sources used to generate energy at any given time and place [ 43 ]. Every

Member State of the European Union has a different energy mix as it depends on a
series of factors varying from the availability and sizes of state resources to all costs
involved from production to

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final use, available technologies and the characteristics
of the energy demand (Demand Response), all within clear policy and legal set-
tings. Furthermore, the various energy mixes in the MS can have clear advantages
within the European Union as a whole allowing flexibility in meeting Member

State s energy needs by maximising the use of energy resources, ensuring conti-

nuity in energy supply and enabling a certain degree of energy independence,
directly related to energy security.
The diversi

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cation of generation technologies leads also to an easy and swift fuel
substation as traditional energy resources are decreasing signi cantly and new

energy sources need further development, indirectly helping energy security.
In this context, microgeneration systems can play their part, if spread and used
wide enough, as there are various microgeneration technologies using different
energy sources (see Sect. 4 ) that can help enhance the energy mix. Moreover, they
are a sustainable alternative to fuel substitution.
Relating to transmission of energy, the key aspect in ensuring the security of
supply and

flexibility of the energy system is having proper infrastructure and
interconnections to easily relocate readily available energy. This implies that both
at European level and in the MS, starting from generation to

final use, the infra-
structure and interconnections in and between the MS must be adequately devel-
oped (transmission lines and interconnection systems) to ensure easy access to
energy. This also applies to users of microgeneration systems as they need suitable
grid access to export (excess) energy.
Another key aspect to ensure the security of supply is improving the quality of
energy. It can also be called high ef ciency in both producing and transmitting

energy and can only be achieved through signi cant investments. The level of

investment required should be consistent from both the European Union and the
MS. With regards to high-ef ciency transmission, this could imply transition to

DEP (see Sect. 3 ). This shift also covers microgeneration systems as they are at the