Insights and Commentaries
Project of Common Interest Proposals are out for public consultation
17th June 2017
Topic(s): Carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS)
Arising from the concept of regional cooperation set out in Europe’s Energy Union vision and the exciting potential for carbon capture and storage (CCS) hubs and clusters in Europe, the European Commission is now seeking to promote the development of future infrastructure requirements for CCS.
The EC has launched a Cross-Border Carbon Dioxide Transport consultation – a process to gather opinion regarding support for the development of CO2 infrastructure that will be integral to future carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities in the region.
The regulatory framework
The EC has, since 2013, operated a scheme to enable the development of key energy infrastructure projects - known as projects of common interest (PCIs) – designed to optimise network development at the European level for the period up to 2020 and beyond, to implement the Energy Union, and to meet the EU's energy policy objectives of competitiveness, sustainability and security of energy supply. As part of this, the Union has to prepare infrastructure for further decarbonisation of its energy system in the longer term towards 2050.
Every two years the EC announces the Union’s list of PCI projects that can benefit from accelerated permitting procedures and improved regulatory conditions and may be eligible for financial support from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). A total budget of €5.35 billion has been allocated to trans-European energy infrastructure under the CEF from 2014-20, helping PCIs to get implemented faster and making them more attractive to investors.
The approval process for the third list of PCIs is ongoing, with a budget of €800 million in CEF grants set aside in the year 2017 for different thematic priorities.
For the first time since the PCIs scheme started, the 2017 list of proposed PCIs includes the ‘Cross-Border Carbon Dioxide Transportation Infrastructure’ – a thematic area focused on the development of CO2 transportation networks.
Four proposed projects on Cross-Border Carbon Dioxide Transportation Infrastructure
In April 2017, four projects from the Cross-Border Carbon Dioxide Transportation Infrastructure category were submitted for CEF funding. These proposed projects involve CO2 crossing national borders and connecting multiple countries bordering the North Sea Basin. Each of the projects identify infrastructure concepts that could form the first parts of a network of multiple CO2 emitters across Europe, which share access to strategically-sized transport and storage infrastructure.
Here is the list of the proposed projects:
- Statoil - CO2 cross border transport connections between a) emission sources in the Teesside Industrial Cluster; b) the Eemshaven area in The Netherlands and a storage site on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
- The Port of Rotterdam Authority - The Rotterdam Nucleus
- Tees Valley Combined Authority - The Teesside CO2 Hub
- Pale Blue Dot - The CO2 SAPLING Transport Infrastructure Project
More information about the projects is available on the Institute's website here.
The development of these CCS hub and cluster initiatives in Europe has a critical role to play in meeting climate goals - providing the infrastructure to connect the many large CO2 emitters in countries across Europe with suitable geological storage.
Opportunity to submit your views by 15th August 2017
The Institute has participated in past meetings of the Priority Thematic Area Cross-Border Carbon Dioxide Network. We are hoping to support this consultation process with the links we provide above to more detailed descriptions of the proposed PCI projects.
The public consultation is accessed on the EC Survey website. We would strongly encourage all our European Members and associates to submit their views in support of cross-border CO2 transport for CCS deployment in Europe and to circulate the link to their respective networks.
You have until Tuesday 15 August 2017 to submit opinions to the EC on the critical role of cross-border carbon dioxide transportation infrastructure and planning for Europe to meet its climate and energy policy goals, combining security of supply, market integration, competition and sustainability.