Europe’s heat response is lagging behind its power needs, executive warns
Neara executive Taco Engelaar says Europe’s low air-conditioning use and aging grids leave it exposed as heat waves intensify.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
Europe’s latest heat wave is exposing a gap between rising cooling demand and power networks built for a cooler climate, according to Taco Engelaar, senior vice president and managing director at climate-tech company Neara. Engelaar argued in a Fortune commentary that Europe cannot add air conditioning at U.S. scale without first strengthening the grid that would have to support it.
The warning comes as parts of Europe face extreme temperatures. The U.K. Met Office upgraded an extreme heat warning to red for six regions of England and Wales, with amber warnings also in effect, and forecast temperatures above 30C for several days, according to the caption information accompanying the report.
Engelaar said the divide between Europe and the United States starts with air conditioning. About 90% of U.S. homes have air conditioning, while the figure is closer to 20% in some parts of Europe, he wrote. He attributed the difference partly to history: U.S. homes and commercial buildings in many regions were designed around hotter summers, while much of Europe’s building stock was not.
That mismatch is becoming more costly as heat waves become more frequent and severe, Engelaar said. He cited figures suggesting Europe could lose as much as 7% of its collective GDP within four years because of heat-related damage and disruption. He also wrote that more than 1,000 deaths had already been recorded from the current heat wave.
Grid strain is the main barrier
Engelaar said Europe’s problem is not only a shortage of cooling equipment. He argued that the larger risk is that older electricity networks may struggle if large numbers of homes and businesses install power-hungry air conditioners at the same time.
France has already seen tens of thousands of homes lose power as heat strained the grid, according to Engelaar. In the U.K., he said, the national grid operator issued its first summer request for additional power after forecasts showed a possible gap between supply and demand. He also pointed to heat-related sagging of electrical lines as a threat to rail service.
The United States faces heat stress on power infrastructure too, including overheated cables and sagging lines, Engelaar wrote. But he said Europe has a separate capacity problem because it is trying to add broad cooling demand to networks that were not built with that load in mind.
Modeling and solar are part of the answer
Engelaar called for faster grid planning supported by detailed digital modeling. He said better models could show where power lines and other assets are most vulnerable, how new air-conditioning demand would affect local supply, and where targeted upgrades would add capacity with less disruption.
He also said simulations could help utilities prepare for future weather by identifying which parts of the network are likely to fail at specific temperatures. That would allow repairs or changes in power flows before outages hit homes and businesses, he argued.
Solar power could help meet cooling demand because it produces strongly during hot weather, Engelaar said. But he warned that Europe’s grid is not yet ready to absorb sharp increases in solar supply, citing the Iberian blackout as evidence of the risk from sudden swings in generation or demand.
Engelaar said the United States has its own grid bottlenecks and permitting delays that could slow solar development. His conclusion was that both regions have renewable power available for cooling, but need stronger grids before that potential can be used safely at scale.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.