ENTSOG South-North Corridor GRIP 2017 - Main Report

An update of the SEN has been undertaken at beginnings of 2017  10) mainly to align the strategy with the new market context and the evolutions experienced between 2013 and 2016 at European level. The revision of the strategy should follow the main lines defined in the previous document with the ultimate target to increase the li- quidity and the competitiveness of the Italian gas market, expected to become the Southern Europe gas hub. A special attention is expected to be provided to the fol- lowing aspects: \\ development of new regasification capacity and cross-border interconnec- tions, in line with the increased flexibility and security of supply requirements of the EU gas markets \\ ending the isolation of the areas still not reached by natural gas (in particular, Sardinia island) \\ diffusion of new uses of gas in the transport sector (both as CNG and LNG) \\ development of a biomethane chain to increase green gas volumes and utili- sations Luxembourg is firmly embedded in Central Western Europe. An analysis of Luxem- bourg’s energy future can therefore not be made without understanding the key drivers changing Europe’s energy landscape and its direct neighbours. Luxembourg has a highly developed economy, with the 2 nd world’s highest GDP per capita   11) . Despite the fact that Luxembourg’s population is expected to almost double by 2050, from currently 560,000 to almost 1,100,000 in 2050, the total final energy consumption in electricity and gas is expected not to further grow by 2050. Energy transition in Luxembourg towards 2050 horizon is driven by energy efficiency and integration of renewables in the distribution networks. Drivers such as the COP21 Paris Agreement and the various European Union energy targets and directives, as well as global trends in energy sector transformation and technology deployment, especially digitalisation, will have a significant impact on the final energy consumption, mainly driven by electricity. Nevertheless, natural gas will play an important role in the energy transition until 2050 and gas demand even shows moderate growth for 2025. Industrial gas consumption is projected to be stable, but the consumption in the residential heating sector is projected to further increase mainly due to the switch from heating oil to gas of the customers still awaiting this switch. Since 2008, Luxembourg’s energy policy has also been focused on reducing CO ² emissions in transport, as a large labour-work force is coming from the neighbouring countries (France, Belgium, Germany), generating a high energy consumption and CO ² emissions related to the transport sector.

4.2.5 LUXEMBOURG

 10) The final text of the SEN 2017 was not published when this Report has been sent off to the editor.  11) Source: www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/02/weodata/index.aspx

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South-North Corridor GRIP 2017