EU Action Plan for Grids November 2023 #EnergyUnion As the backbone of our energy system, electricity grids are critical for the clean energy transition. Europe has the most interconnected and resilient electricity grid in the world bringing electricity to consumers every minute, hour and day of the year. However, for the EU to bring renewable electricity to its consumers and empower them to produce it, electricity grids need to develop further and faster. In the next seven years, we should double our cross-border transmission infrastructure. An accelerated energy transition requires a shift towards a decentralised, digitalised, integrated and flexible system, with the expansion and upgrade of both the transmission and distribution grids. Investing in grids today will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs for consumers: cross-border energy infrastructure projects can decrease generation costs by €9 billion annually until 2040. 93 GW of cross-border transmission capacity currently in Europe An additional 23 GW being incorporated by 2025, a further 64 GW is needed by 2030 40% of Europe’s distribution grids are over 40 years old Connection requests at distribution level increased on average by 19% in a single year in 2021 Rapid implementation of the 85 electricity transmission, storage and smart grid crossborder projects included in the 2023 PCI list is key In this decade alone, €584 billion in investments are necessary for the electricity grids, with a substantial part needed in distribution grids A grids action plan to address the missing links of the clean energy transition Accelerating the implementation of Projects of Common Interest through political steering, reinforced monitoring and more project proposals Improving access to finance by increasing visibility on EU funding programmes for smart grids and modernisation of distribution grids Improving the long-term planning of grids to accommodate more renewables and electrified demand in the energy system Stimulating faster permitting for grids deployment by providing technical support for authorities and guidance on better engaging stakeholders and communities Introducing regulatory incentives through anticipatory investments and offshore cross-border cost sharing Improving grid supply chains by harmonising industry manufacturing requirements Ad ob eS toc k Incentivising a better usage of the grids with enhanced transparency and improved network tariffs for more smart grids network efficiency and innovative technologies © k Stoc © Adobe © European Union, 2023 Reuse of this document is allowed, provided appropriate credit is given and any changes are indicated (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license). For any use or reproduction of elements that are not owned by the EU, permission may need to be sought directly from the respective right holders. All images © European Union, unless otherwise stated. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2023 Print PDF ISBN 978-92-68-09772-4 ISBN 978-92-68-09746-5 doi: 10.2775/592102 doi: 10.2775/919160 NA-05-23-442-EN-C NA-05-23-442-EN-N