Infrastructure and Distribution

As part of the European Union’s economic recovery plan, the European Commission is proposing a €3.5 billion investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS), offshore wind and gas and electricity interconnection.

Commission president José Manuel Barroso said the investment will take unspent money from the budget and redirect it toward priorities such as energy, which will also stimulate the economy.

The investment will be split, with €1750 million going to infrastructure projects, €1250 million to CCS and €500 million to offshore wind.

The plans include a €150 million investment in a North Sea electricity grid to integrate offshore wind capacity in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and Denmark. The European offshore wind test centre in Aberdeen is also slated to receive €40 million.

The CCS investment will be focused on projects in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK. However, each country will receive only €250 million – which in the UK will have to be shared between the proposed King North, Longannet, Tilbury and Hatfield CCS projects.

“The EU’s Recovery Plan is all about ‘smart investment’ – a short-term stimulus targeted on long-term goals,” said Barroso. “We need to… invest heavily in energy.”

For further information:
europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/142&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en