Massive investment to rescue green transition
The European Commission will present this week a €1.2 trillion package to overhaul Europe’s electricity networks, speed up permits and unlock renewable energy projects currently stuck in years-long queues.
A leaked document seen by Euronews identifies eight priority projects that Brussels wants to see make “tangible progress” within the next six to nine months:
- Interconnections across the Pyrenees to better integrate the Iberian peninsula
- Electricity link connecting Cyprus to mainland Europe
- Baltic states synchronisation via Lithuania–Poland
- Offshore hub in Denmark with possible extension in the Baltic Sea
- Energy storage boost in south-east Europe
- Southern hydrogen corridor (Tunisia–Italy–Austria–Germany)
- Portugal–Germany hydrogen corridor
The plan targets outdated transmission and distribution infrastructure that currently blocks the integration of wind and solar power. Permitting for renewable projects can take up to nine years, driving up costs and delaying the green transition.
€730 billion will go to distribution grids and €477 billion to transmission networks by 2040. Funding will combine EU budgets, national contributions, private investment and cost-sharing mechanisms.
Climate Action Network Europe called the plan a major step toward a fully renewable and resilient grid, stressing that new rules on public participation and benefit-sharing will increase local acceptance.
Breakdown of the mammoth investment
The European Commission estimates a total of €1.2 trillion will be required by 2040 to modernise Europe’s electricity infrastructure.
Of this amount:
- €730 billion will target distribution networks
- €477 billion will go to transmission grids
Funding details remain unclear, but Brussels will combine multiple sources: EU funds, national budgets, private capital and cost-sharing mechanisms, given the enormous scale of the works.
The electricity industry urges the Commission to earmark a specific share of European resources for electrification, with particular focus on upgrading and expanding distribution networks.
The package is part of Brussels’ response to the Draghi and Letta reports, which warned that Europe’s high energy prices – two to three times higher than in the US – threaten competitiveness unless grids are urgently upgraded.
Source: Euronews
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