Development of sustainable energy market is priority for TenneT
02-06-2010
The development of the sustainable energy market will be one of electricity transmission operator TenneT’s most important priorities in the coming years. With the development of the offshore grid and the transition to sustainable energy sources in Europe, TenneT wishes to make an active contribution to this transition in its capacity as a socially responsible business. TenneT has set out these ambitions in its first corporate social responsibility (CSR) report, which has been published today in digital format, along with the company’s Annual Report.
TenneT TSO is the Transmission System Operator of the Netherlands. We are responsible for operating the national high‑voltage grid and our strategy is focused on the development of a single European energy market. The government designates TenneT as the independent transmission system operator of the Netherlands, whose role is to enable the actual producers of electricity to operate in a free and fair market.
Prominent CSR position
TenneT wishes to make a substantial contribution towards making the energy supply sustainable. TenneT CEO Mel Kroon says: “Our ambition is to take up a prominent position amongst socially responsible businesses in the European energy sector. As such, TenneT is playing an active role in the transition to a sustainable European energy supply system. We display this ambition through initiatives such as the installation of interconnections to hydroelectric plants in Norway. It was confirmed yesterday that we will be going ahead with the next phase in the construction of two new links to Norway. The cables (NorNed 2 and NORD.LINK) will lead to a considerable increase in the use of sustainable energy in the Netherlands. In addition to this, we are working on an interconnection to wind farms in Denmark. We are also assisting in the development of new large-scale offshore wind farms. With the acquisition of German TSO transpower, we have even more opportunities to achieve our ambitions in the field of sustainability.
People, Planet and Profit
At TenneT, the three Ps stand for People, Planet and Profit, which can also be conveyed as people, the environment and the market.
• Concern for the first of these components – People – is essential if we are to achieve true excellence in our activities. The input of our highly-qualified staff and close cooperation with external partners form the basis for the high security of supply of the Dutch national grid.
• TenneT devotes due attention to its environmental impact in all its business activities. In determining the route of a new connection, for example, we avoid infringing upon areas of particular ecological value whilst actively attempting to integrate our infrastructure into the landscape in the most responsible way possible. At the moment, ecological projects undertaken by TenneT in order to find new connection routes are among the largest ecological projects in the Netherlands.
• Market. TenneT further ensures that the electricity market can function effectively. We provide transmission and system management services in line with our legal responsibility to ensure full security of supply. TenneT actively aims to facilitate and encourage a free and fair market operation which will regulate itself through the natural market forces of supply and demand.
The TenneT CSR Report has been drawn up on the basis of the Global Reporting Initiative. In 2010, TenneT will continue to develop its CSR policy based on these three pillars. For each, attention will be devoted to specific themes and topics, as well as quantifiable targets.
For more information on the CSR Report, please visit: http://jaarverslag.tennet.org.
