Call for applications for candidate projects of common interest (PCIs) in electricity and gas

The Commission is today opening a call for applications for electricity and gas projects to be candidates for the fifth European Union 'Projects of Common Interest' (PCIs) list. It runs until 7 January 2021. Calls for PCI candidates in the Priority Corridors for smart grids, cross-border carbon dioxide network, and oil will follow. Under the current rules, the Commission is obliged to include calls for the different types of projects listed in the regulation (including gas and oil).

Eligible projects will be assessed by the Commission to identify if they address a European need that can be best solved through infrastructure. The 5th PCI list will be adopted by the European Commission by the end of 2021 under the existing regulation on Trans-European Energy Networks (TEN-E). The Commission is scheduled to table legislative proposals for revising the TEN-E Regulation before the end of 2020, but the new rules will only be in place in time for the 6th PCI list.

In accordance with the Regulation on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure (No 347/2013), candidate projects in electricity and gas must be included in the Ten-Year Network Development Plans (TYNDP) developed by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for electricity (ENTSO-E) or for gas (ENTSOG).

For more information, see here

How to apply?

Promoters of electricity and gas TYNPD projects wishing to become PCIs are now invited to participate in the call by submitting an application via the on-line submission platforms available at the following links:

• For electricity projects: transmission projects and storage projects
• For gas projects: transmission storage and LNGs

The TYNDP data will be directly retrieved from the respective TYNDP 2020 project sheet. The application is therefore shortened to no more than 30 minutes. The call for applications is open as of today 25 November 2020 until 7 January 2021 at midnight.

What are the next steps after project submission?

Eligible projects will be assessed to identify if they address a European need that can be best solved through infrastructure. Projects that pass this test will be assessed against the criteria set out in the TEN-E Regulation to identify their contribution to the implementation of the respective energy infrastructure priority corridor and their fulfilment of the aforementioned criteria. Projects meeting all requirements of the Regulation and making the largest contributions will be proposed for inclusion in the fifth Union list of PCIs. The list will be adopted by the European Commission by the end of 2021 and published in the Official Journal by early 2022.

This is an overview of the main steps of the 5th PCI process:

Where can I find more information about the PCI identification selection?

You can find out more about the procedure and criteria as laid down by the TEN-E Regulation by accessing the following link.

More information about the policy goals and latest developments can be accessed here.

The electricity Ten Year Network Development Plan 2020 including more information about individual projects can be accessed here.

The gas Ten Year Network Development Plan 2020 including more information about individual projects will be in short time accessible here.

What about the call for application for candidate of PCIs in smart grids, CO2 and oil?

Calls for PCI candidates in the Priority Corridors for oil and the Thematic Priorities of cross-border carbon dioxide networks and smart grids deployment will follow.

Who can I contact in case of questions?

For questions concerning the application modules and TYNDPs:

• For electricity projects:  Lea [dot] Dehaudtentsoe [dot] eu (Lea[dot]Dehaudt[at]entsoe[dot]eu) and Johannes [dot] moolmanentsoe [dot] eu (Johannes[dot]moolman[at]entsoe[dot]eu)
• For gas projects: Rares [dot] Mitracheentsog [dot] eu (Rares[dot]Mitrache[at]entsog[dot]eu)  and Stefano [dot] Astorrientsog [dot] eu (Stefano[dot]Astorri[at]entsog[dot]eu)

For questions concerning the PCI identification and selection process: ENER-B1-PROJECTSec [dot] europa [dot] eu (ENER-B1-PROJECTS[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)