Through a rough back-of-the-envelope calculation we estimated to the total capital value of the EU electricity system, including generation, transmission & distribution and end-use.
Electricity generation
The EU-28 has roughly 1000 GW installed capacity (end of 2014) [i], figure 4]
The average investment cost for generation capacity can be calculated from the following addition: 20% natural gas at 750€/kW; 15% hard coal at 1550 €/kW; 15% nuclear at 4200 €/kW; 15% off-shore wind at 1300 €/kW, 15% hydro at 2100 €/kW, 5% lignite at 1250 €/kW, 5% PV at 1250 €/kW, 5% biomass at 2500 €/kW, and 5% oil at 2100 €/kW. [i, figure 4 and Table 1]
The total cost = 2100 B€
Installations in buildings
There are 220 million residential buildings in Europe [ii], and 75% of the buildings are residential [iii].
So in total there are around 300 million buildings, with each an electrical installation.
A very rough estimation of 300 million installations at 4000 €/installation = 1200 B€
Transmission and distribution networks
The cost of the US transmission and distribution grid was estimated at 2100 B$. [iv]
There are 508 million inhabitants in the EU28 compared to 326 million in the US
2100 B$ x 508/326 inhabitants x 0.88 €/$ = 2900 B€
ICT appliances
The manufacturing of ICT appliances in the EU28 amounts to 0.0032% of the GDP, or 50 B€. [v]
The EU trade balance for ICT is 7.5 import compared to 5.4 export. [vi] and [vii]
Suppose a 10 year life-cycle for ICT appliances.
7.5/5.4 trade balance x 10 year life cycle = 700 B€
Household appliances
The manufacturing of household appliances in the EU28 amounted to 53 B€ in 2016 [viii], page 6.
Suppose a similar trade balance as for ICT appliances (7.5/5.4).
And a similar product life-cycle of 10 years.
53 B€ x 7.5/5.4 x 10 year life cycle = 700 B€
Railways and trams
The EU railway sector invested 40 B€ in 2011 [ix], page 22. Some of it is in Diesel trains, but on the other hand the trams and trolley busses are not included. Suppose a product life cycle of 25 years.
40 B$/year investments x 25 year life cycle = 1000 B€
Industrial end-use devices
A rough estimation is that industrial electrical end-use systems are worth the double from ICT and household appliances. That would be 1400 B€
Total
Adding the figures above leads to 10,000 B€
Notes
[i] Chalmers University of Technology, Investment Requirements in the EU Electricity Sector up to 2050, May 2015
[ii] OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment, Housing statistics in the European Union, September 2010
[iii] EU Commission, EU Buildings Factsheets
[iv] The Conversation, The old, dirty, creaky US electric grid would cost $5 trillion to replace. Where should infrastructure spending go?, March 2017
[v] Eurostat, ICT Sector – value added, employment and R&D, January 2018
[vi] The World Bank, ICT goods imports
[vii] The World Bank, ICT goods exports
[viii] APPLIA, The Home Appliance Industry in Europe 2017 – 2016
[ix] Ecorys and CER, The economic footprint of the railway transport in Europe, October 2014
