On Wednesday 10 December, the European Commission presented its ‘grids’ package, which aims to develop and modernise European networks, in particular electricity networks, so that they can adapt to the “electricity age” and the growing importance of renewable energies.
Failure to act in this area would result in an estimated loss of 310 TWh of renewable energy by 2040, according to the Commission, or almost half of electricity consumption in 2023.
This package, which includes a revision of the TEN-E Regulation on trans-European energy infrastructure and a Directive on speeding up the granting of permits for infrastructure and renewable energy projects, is based on “greater coordination” between European and national planning.
It also sets out in detail the next steps to be taken to develop the eight ‘Energy Highways’ unveiled during the State of the Union address last September (see EUROPE 13767/4).
Planning. As European Commissioner Dan Jørgensen explained at a press conference, to date the EU has adopted a “bottom-up” approach to European network planning.
“We are simply adding national plans and sectoral strategies. It lacks a truly European and cross-cutting perspective”, he explained to the press.
The Commission undertakes, within two years of the implementation of this new package, to develop a “central overall EU scenario”, in line with the EU’s energy and climate objectives.
This scenario will be developed with contributions from the Member States and various stakeholders. The networks of electricity transmission system operators (ENTSOE) and operators for hydrogen (ENNOH) will be responsible for identifying infrastructure needs.
“Enhanced European intervention is necessary where a cross-border need for capacity has been identified”, the document stresses, indicating that the Commission should be able to initiate a “gap-filling” process.
This process would be based on regional cooperation, inviting network operators and, ultimately, project promoters to propose projects to meet unmet needs.
The Commission is also focusing on the wider adoption of smart electricity grids and grid efficiency measures.
Permitting. According to ACER, it takes around five years to obtain a permit for electricity transmission networks.
The package therefore presents an “EU framework” aimed at speeding up authorisation procedures for all grid infrastructure, as well as renewable energy projects, storage projects and recharging stations.
As one European official points out, there is currently no European authorisation framework for electricity networks. “This is why we are proposing a ‘general presumption of overriding public interest’ for electricity networks in order to close this major loophole that currently exists”.
In addition, under certain conditions, grid connection applications for solar projects will have to be approved within one to three months. For energy storage (excluding hydrogen) and recharging stations, the deadline is six months.
The proposal includes exempting projects of common and mutual interest (PCI/PMI) from certain environmental assessments “under conditions and safeguards that reflect the approach that was successfully used in RED III (revised Directive on renewable energies, Editor’s note)”, explained another official.
Network connections and contracts for difference
As part of this package, the Commission is also presenting recommendations for efficient connections to the network, aimed at moving away from the “first come, first served” principle and favouring the “maturity” principle in requests to connect new projects to the network (see EUROPE 13755/19).
The Commission is also presenting a guidance document to help Member States develop ‘Contracts for Difference’ (‘CfDs’), defined in the revised Electricity Regulation in 2023, “in a way that promotes efficient investment”.
Financing. The investment needed in the networks is estimated at €1.2 trillion for the electricity networks between now and 2040, a sum much higher than the envelope proposed by the Commission as part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), which amounts to €30 billion between 2028 and 2034 (see EUROPE 13764/7).
“What we offer is important, reliable and attractive to institutional investors. No one is claiming that the entire scheme will be financed from the public budget”, defended Commission Vice-President Teresa Ribera.
In particular, the institution indicates that it will propose actions as part of its forthcoming ‘Clean Energy Investment Strategy’.
It also wants to explore avenues outside network tariffs, for example using part of the congestion income for interconnector projects within the PCI/PMI list. It also proposes “bundling” these projects together to encourage discussions on sharing their costs.
The ‘networks’ package: https://aeur.eu/f/jxl (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)