Electricity
(BRUSSELS) – The European Union is to invest EUR 263 million in key European energy infrastructure projects, of which the lion’s share will support the building of gas infrastructure in the Baltic Sea region.
A total of nine projects have been selected under the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding support programme. These aim to increase energy security, connect isolated EU Member States to the wider European grid and contribute to E U policies of affordable, secure and sustainable energy.
Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete underlined the importance to Europe of well-connected energy infrastructure: “this EU support will help fill existing gaps in energy infrastructure, putting us on the path to a truly connected European energy market. This is necessary to strengthen the security of energy supply and a more efficient use of the energy resources and integration of renewables into the grid,” he said.
A key aim of EU energy policy is to bolster Europe’s energy security and free the sector – particularly in the Baltic region – from historical dependence on Russia.
In the gas sector, the European grants will cover the construction of the Balticconnector (EU support EUR 187.5m), the first gas pipeline linking Estonia to Finland. Once completed, the interconnector will end the dependence of Finland from a single gas supplier strengthening the security of supply in the Eastern Baltic Sea region.
The EU will also be supporting works to enhance the Estonian-Latvian interconnection, to the tune of EUR 18.6 million). The enhancement of Estonia-Latvia interconnection will enable better access to storage in Latvia, ensure a more diverse natural gas transmission network in the Baltic Sea region and further enable the Balticconnector project.
In the electricity sector, the list will include the construction of a new 100 km electricity line between Dobrudja and Burgas in Bulgaria that will strengthen the resilience of the Bulgarian electricity grid. The European support to this new power line amounts to EUR 29.9m.
Of the 9 proposals selected for funding, 5 are in the gas sector (EU support worth EUR 210m) and 4 are in the electricity sector (EU support worth EUR 53m); 3 relate to construction works (EUR 236m) and 6 to studies (EUR 27m).
With a total of EUR 800 million available for grants under Connecting Europe Facility Energy in 2016, the second 2016 call for proposals with an indicative budget of EUR 600 million is currently ongoing and will close on 8 November.
Under the Connecting Europe Facility, a total of EUR 5.35 billion was allocated to trans-European energy infrastructure for the period of 2014-2020.
In order to be eligible for a grant, a proposal has to be ‘projects of common interest’. There are currently 195 European energy infrastructure projects identified as “projects of common interest”. When completed, the projects would each ensure significant benefits for at least two Member States, enhance security of supply, contribute to market integration and further competition as well as reduce CO2 emissions. The list is updated every two years.
Further information
List of all projects receiving EU support under the current call
