The European Commission launched on may 19th a call for proposals covering key energy infrastructure projects such as energy interconnections, offshore wind energy and carbon capture and storage as part of the implementation of the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR), on which the Council and the Parliament recently reached agreement. Project promoters are invited to submit their proposals by July 15th 2009.

The European Commission, Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, has launched a call for proposals in order to award grants to projects selected in the annex of the draft Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a programme to aid economic recovery by granting Community financial assistance to projects in the field of energy (EEPR).

The EU funding available for the implementation of the EEPR for 2009 and 2010 will be €3.98 billion, allocated to the following Sub-programmes:

• Gas and Electricity Infrastructure (interconnections) projects -  TREN/C1 – EEPR – Infrastructures:€2.365 billion
• Offshore Wind Energy (OWE) projects - TREN/D2 – EEPR – offshore wind: €565 million
• Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects - TREN/C3 – EEPR – CCS: €1.050 billion

The European Energy Programme for Recovery is a unique opportunity to respond to the key energy challenges facing Europe today. It will help the EU to strengthen its energy market in terms of security of supply, competitiveness, innovation and the development of renewable energy. At the same time, it is an important stimulus for the European economy in this very difficult period.

As the European Parliament pointed out, diversification of energy supply was one of the main lessons learned after the Ukraine-Russian gas crisis. Ensuring security, safety and reliability, as well as the an interoperable energy network will be one of the main objectives to be reached by the projects to be funded within this call. Furthermore,  the development of offshore wind energy production is an opportunity for EU industry, as well as it increases the diversity of the energy mix and the  security of electricity supply. It will also help reach the EU's objectives  for renewables and for the reduction of greenhouse gases emissions, and, in particular,  the binding targets for 2020.

Although CCS is not currently deployed on a large scale or commercial basis, these  technologies represent a promising and potentially very powerful instrument for fighting  climate change. The next milestone on the way to the widespread use of CCS is to  demonstrate its application in commercial large-scale power generation or industrial  installations.  All projects are expected to join the network of CCS demonstration projects to be set up by the European Commission after a tendering process and share experience and non-proprietary knowledge obtained through the demonstration through this network.

As Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs highlighted, the Commission expects that this financing that has been made available “will act as a role to secure and speed up investments in the energy sector. In addition, the funds allocated to projects will have a direct impact on the EU economy and on employment.”

Applicants must submit their proposals by July 15th 2009. The Commission expects to sign the first grant agreements and decisions before the end of the year.

Further informations as well as relevant documents can be found at the European Energy Programme for Recovery website.