The concrete results of the Connecting Europe Mechanism
(Sustainabilityernvironment.com) – Here comes the first (small) Community list of cross-border renewable projects 2022, one of the instruments of cooperation provided by the CEF Regulation of the Union. To publish it is the European Commission as a result of the ban closed last March. The list includes: a hybrid offshore wind farm between Estonia and Latvia a RES-based cross-border district heating network between Germany and Poland; a clean electricity generation project in Italy, Spain and Germany for the generation of green hydrogen for the Netherlands and Germany.
“The three projects selected today are just the beginning,” said European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson. “We are accelerating the deployment of renewable energy across the EU and are moving towards a more collaborative approach as we do so. The full potential for the EU’s green transition and decarbonization can only be realized through joint efforts in all sectors, technologies and regions”. It’s not just about finding a new unit of intent. Thanks to the acquisition of the official status of cross-border renewable energy projects (CB RES), the selected proposals can benefit from dedicated financial support.
What are cross-border renewable projects?
The label itself is quite comprehensive. Cross-border renewable projects are plants and infrastructure powered by green energy and aimed at promoting collaboration between the 27. To qualify as such, however, projects must meet certain general criteria. They must, for example, be included in a cooperation agreement between two or more Member States (but the participation of third countries is also envisaged). They must make it possible to save on the costs associated with the use of renewable energy or to bring advantages for system integration, security of supply or innovation. And finally, they must ensure that the potential global benefits of cooperation, assessed on the basis of the cost/benefit analysis, outweigh its costs; also in the long-term perspective.
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“The implementation of the projects in the first CB RES list will make an important contribution to the increased ambition for renewable energy within the European Green Deal, as well as to the objectives of the REPowerEU,” explains the EU executive in a press release. “The Commission, with the support of the European Executive Agency for Climate, Infrastructure and the Environment, will monitor the implementation […] and make information on the status of projects available soon via a public portal”.