EU opens new call for PCI, PMI energy infrastructure projects

The European Commission (EC) has opened a call for energy infrastructure projects, including electricity, hydrogen and smart grids, that seek designation as Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) and Projects of Mutual Interest (PMIs), which will allow them to benefit from accelerated permitting and regulatory procedures.

The call, under the Trans-European Network for Energy (TEN-E) Regulation, for the electricity, hydrogen and electrolyser categories runs from September 18 to November 18, and for the smart electricity grids, smart gas grids, carbon dioxide (CO2) and the projects falling under the Article 24 derogation, from September 18 until December 18, 2024.

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To be eligible for inclusion in the Union list of PCIs and PMIs, projects in electricity and hydrogen must be included in the 2024 Ten-Year Network Development Plans (TYNDP) developed by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) or Gas (ENTSOG), 2024, a press statement says.

Eligible projects will be evaluated based on criteria outlined in the TEN-E Regulation to determine their contribution to the development of the respective energy infrastructure priority corridor. The select initiatives will be proposed for inclusion in the 2nd Union list of PCIs and PMIs.

Below is an overview of the main steps of the 2nd PCI/PMI process:

Image source: energy.ec.europa.eu.

In November, the EC put priority status on 166 cross-border energy infrastructure projects, renewables and hydrogen included, that aim to help the bloc achieve its climate and energy goals under the European Green Deal.

Earlier this year, it launched a EUR-850-million (USD 946.8m) call for EU energy infrastructure projects under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for Energy programme.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.114)