On Wednesday 22 May, the Member States’ ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) discussed the latest version (REV3), seen by Agence Europe, of the conclusions prepared by the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council on the development of sustainable electricity grids, with a view to their adoption at the Energy Council on Thursday 30 May.
Electricity grids are a priority issue for the Belgian Presidency, which, following on from the ‘Action Plan for Grids’ (see EUROPE 13302/8), has invited European Energy ministers to address the crucial role of a modernised and interconnected European electricity network, particularly to improve flexibility and promote the integration of renewable energies.
The draft conclusions follow on from the informal meeting of energy ministers held on 15 and 16 April in Brussels (see EUROPE 13392/9).
The conclusions set “both a 10-year and a 20-year horizon” for the planning of electricity grid infrastructure on a European scale, which is intended to be “holistic, long-term, coordinated, improved and integrated”.
They also recognise the importance of taking decarbonisation objectives into account and ensuring coordination between transmission and distribution levels.
The Belgian Presidency also stresses the importance of cooperation between Member States to optimise onshore and offshore spatial planning and the coordination of maritime spatial planning.
Although the Presidency had subsequently put forward the idea of an Offshore Investment Facility to promote cooperation between the Commission, Member States and neighbouring countries outside the EU on hybrid onshore and offshore grid and infrastructure projects, this was ultimately dropped from the final version of the conclusions.
It would therefore be up to the European Commission to determine whether other proposals are needed to develop offshore energy production beyond radial electricity connections towards a hybrid mesh grid connected to different Member States.
The Commission is also invited to launch a review of the network tariff framework and to identify measures to speed up the authorisation procedures applicable to electricity grid infrastructures.
On the broader issue of funding, the Belgian Presidency stresses the importance of having a “robust” CEF (Connecting Europe Facility) funding instrument, with a more accessible and harmonised procedure for awarding grants. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)