The third edition of the EU Commission’s PCI Energy Days was held on September 19th and 20th 2022 in Brussel. This forum allows participants and stakeholders to come together to share ideas and best practices. CSEI with its focus on economic research regarding future European infrastructure is well placed to assist in the challenges and opportunities of energy transition that the sector faces.
The focus of the PCI Days are the so-called Projects of Common Interest (PCI’s), which are supported by the European commission to link energy systems across EU countries supporting climate and energy policy objectives. Projects that have a compelling impact on energy markets and integration between two EU member states are eligible for PCI status. They can then benefit from funding and accelerated permitting through a single national authority that streamlines the planning process.
These cross-border infrastructure projects are intended to support energy security within the EU, providing its citizens with affordable energy that meets sustainable and decarbonisation goals of the Paris agreement
PCI fall under the Trans- European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) and cover nine geographic corridors that connect previously isolated regions to European energy markets as well as identifying 3 priority areas. These consist of smart grids deployment, electric highways (which allow for large scale transportation of electricity across Europe) and a cross border network that uses carbon capture and sequestration technology (CCS).
CSEI was participating with its own stand at the PCI Days to promote our research, connect with stakeholders and to discuss future trends within the energy sector.
The PCI days gave a good occasion for CSEI to talk to Kadri Simson, Commissioner for Energy and Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director General for Energy (DG ENER) about our research and the close cooperation with DG Energy.
Topics discussed in the forums included the upgrading if EU energy infrastructure under the revised TEN-E regulation, securing EU natural gas supply, smart electricity grids, best practices of PCI projects and financing tomorrows energy infrastructure.
At the forum also two of CSEI’s partners were represented. Energinet and TransnetBW who were promoting the North Sea Wind Power Hub and Suedlink.