29 January 2018: The EU announced various regional energy projects, including the investment of €873 million in clean energy infrastructure projects, the Smart Specialisation Platform on Energy event, and the launching of the new Energy Poverty Observatory.

EU member states agreed to the European Commission’s proposal to invest €873 million in infrastructure projects to help integrate renewable energy and natural gas markets across the Union. Projects will be funded by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), which allocates funds to trans-European energy infrastructure projects. The projects must result in significant benefits for at least two Member States, enhance security of supply, contribute to market integration, enhance competition, and reduce CO₂ emissions.

Electricity projects include: the Biscay Gulf France-Spain Interconnection, which will better integrate the Iberian Peninsula into the internal European electricity market; the SuedOstLink power line, which will link wind power generated in northern Germany to consumption centers in the south of the country; and the construction of an internal power line between the Romanian cities Cernavoda and Stalpu to increase interconnection capacity between Romania and Bulgaria and integrate wind power from the Black Sea Coast.

Other projects include the introduction of natural gas to Cyprus, a study on the possibility of linking Malta to the European Gas network, and a study on the permit-granting process of the EU’s ‘Improving Communities Sustainable Energy Policy Tools (STEP)’ project regarding a project on French-Spanish gas interconnection. [European Commission Press Release – CEF Projects] [ClimateAction – CEF Projects]

An event was held 25 January 2018, in Brussels, Belgium, to discuss mutual collaboration, lessons learned, and future actions regarding the Smart Specialisation Platform on Energy (S3PEnergy). Organized by the European Commission, S3PEnergy facilitates partnerships between regions in the EU that plan energy innovation investments, and assists them in using funding more effectively. Five partnerships bringing together sixty European regions have so far been established to implement projects in areas such as bio-energy, solar energy, renewable marine energy, smart grids and sustainable buildings. The partnerships will next implement pilot activities and define business and funding plans, while S3PEnergy will help identify and combine EU funds to finance projects. [European Commission – S3PEnergy Event]

Also in Brussels, on 29 January, the Commission launched the EU Energy Poverty Observatory, an open-access resource that will promote public engagement regarding the issue of energy poverty. Energy poverty was identified as a policy priority by the European Commission’s “Clean Energy for All Europeans” initiatives package; 9% of the EU’s population struggle to attain adequate warmth. The Observatory aims to support Member States in their efforts to combat energy poverty by improving measuring, monitoring and sharing of knowledge and best practice on energy poverty. Speaking at the launch event, Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission, in charge of Energy Union, noted that energy poverty is currently not adequately identified or addressed in the EU “because two out of three Member States do not define or measure energy poverty.” He said the Observatory will address the problem by providing a comprehensive overview of the situation based on comparable data. [European Commission Press Release – Energy Poverty Observatory] [EU Energy Observatory Website] [Speech by Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission, in charge of Energy Union, at the launch event]