How much does the industry pay her electricity; Where does it come from natural gas Europe last year and how many power plants does it have? Which transport lines are the busiest? How fast are wind and solar energy added to the system? It is not easy to give clear answers to these questions, partly because some publicly available statistics remain unavailable or difficult to use, and partly because simpler, more up-to-date data comes at a price. This applies in particular to energy prices and emissions, as well as data on demand from certain consumer groups or regional production.

Required energy conversion for zero pollution by 2050 it will be huge in the EU. Transport, heat and industry must be transferred very quickly to emission-free energy sources. Determining the right mix of solutions is a contentious issue. Is it necessary to transfer consumers of electricity to where the windmills are, windmills to where there is consumption, or does electricity need to be transported? How should costs be allocated among different consumers? These are not only technical and economic issues, but above all political ones. Thus, the availability of reliable and complete data is a key basis for making important policy decisions. The problem is not so much that governments, companies, research institutes and associations do not provide data, but that they produce a patchwork of only partially documented data that they post in their form and on their sites. This creates unnecessarily high barriers to participation in meaningful energy policy debates, so many stakeholders are unable to participate. Many commendable initiatives by academia, non-governmental organizations and associations have lowered barriers to data access in some areas, sometimes through very impressive online tools. Data and publicly available information are needed to assess the impact of policies and existing structures, plan infrastructure, evaluate national and regional plans, and set priorities.

Because there is so much at stake in the transition to energy, the public body, as independent as possible, must take responsibility for the information and knowledge infrastructure. New European Energy Agency.

The article is a joint work of researchers from the university and the Brueghel Institute.