Today, EU ambassadors acting on behalf of the European Council endorsed new regulation on Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E). The new rules will govern future cross-border energy infrastructure investments in Europe, replacing the existing TEN-E guidelines from 2013. A provisional political agreement was reached following marathon negotiations between the European Parliament and Council that concluded at 5 a.m. in the morning of 15 December.
According to the provisional text, EU Member States shall enter into non-binding written agreements to cooperate on offshore renewable generation to be deployed by 2050 within each sea basin and include intermediary steps for 2030 and 2040.
“It’s positive that offshore grid planning will now be included in the TEN-E framework for the first time. However, basing a European-wide strategic network development plan on non-binding agreements between the EU Member States leaves too much wiggle room and sends too vague a signal to market participants. Offshore renewable electricity is going to form the backbone of Europe’s efforts to decarbonise. Therefore, we immediately need to design a pan-European offshore supergrid capable of moving bulk renewable power over long distances to Europe’s consumers,” said SuperNode Chief Public Affairs Officer, Christian Kjaer.
The non-binding plans must be compatible with the Member States’ national energy and climate plans and the offshore renewable energy potential of the given sea basin. Based on the non-binding agreements, ENTSO-E (the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity), shall develop and publish “high-level strategic integrated offshore network development plans” for each sea basin. The intention is for these to “provide a high-level outlook on offshore grid needs, including the potential needs for interconnectors, hybrid projects, radial connections, reinforcements and hydrogen infrastructure,” according to the provisional agreement.
“The European Parliament and the Council must be commended for recognising the need for a pan-European offshore grid and for ensuring that future scenarios include long-term perspectives to 2050. However, despite some improvements in governance, the institutional framework for designing a powerful offshore grid at least cost is still not in place. I fear that we will have to go through yet another revision of TEN-E in a few years, to arrive at a useful European offshore grid master plan to support the massive buildout of renewables that everybody expects.,” Kjaer said.
The European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) is expected to pass the agreement at its meeting on 26 January 2022. The new regulation will enter into force in time for the sixth selection round of energy infrastructure “projects of common interest” (PCIs), which provide access to EU funding and fast track permitting for energy infrastructure projects.
The provisional political agreement of the Council and the Parliament on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure can be found here.
The submission of 8 March 2021 to the TEN-E consultation of CurrENT, the association representing Europe’s innovative grid technology companies which SuperNode is a founding member of, can be found here.