New list of Projects of Common Interest to strengthen EU energy market

The European Fee adopted on November 19 an inventory of key cross-border power infrastructure for building a extra built-in and resilient EU inner power market and pursuing the EU’s power and climate objectives.

The fifth listing Tasks of Widespread Interest (PCIs) includes 98 tasks: 67 tasks in electrical energy transmission and storage, 20 in fuel, six CO2 network tasks and five sensible grid tasks. All PCI tasks are topic to streamlined allowing and regulatory procedures and eligible for monetary help from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the Commission stated.

The 67 electrical energy transmission and storage tasks on the PCI record will make an essential contribution to the elevated renewable power ambition underneath the European Inexperienced Deal, whereas 5 sensible grid tasks will improve efficiency of the networks, cross-border knowledge coordination and safer grid management.

The Commission noted that no new fuel infrastructure challenge is supported by the proposal. The few, chosen fuel tasks, which have already been on the 4th PCI record, are tasks which might be vital to ensure security of supply for all Member States. A strengthened sustainability assessment has led to quite a lot of fuel tasks being dropped from the record, the Commission stated.

The record adopted on November 19 is established underneath the prevailing Trans-European Community-Power (TEN-E) Regulation. In December 2020, the Commission proposed a revision of the TEN-E regulation which would end the eligibility of oil and fuel infrastructure tasks for future PCI lists and create an obligation for all tasks to satisfy obligatory sustainability criteria as well as to comply with the ‘do no vital harm’ principle as set out in the Inexperienced Deal.

Following its adoption by the Fee on November 19, the Delegated Act with the fifth PCI record will probably be submitted to the European Parliament and the Council. Each co-legislators have two months to either settle for or reject the record – a process which could be extended by an extra two months, if needed. Based mostly on the relevant authorized provisions, the co-legislators would not have the likelihood to amend the draft record.