EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 26.11.2021 COM(2021) 670 final REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL On the implementation of the European Energy Programme for Recovery and the European Energy Efficiency Fund {SWD(2021) 306 final}



REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL On the implementation of the European Energy Programme for Recovery

and the European Energy Efficiency Fund A resilient infrastructure is the backbone of the Energy Union. Last year, in 2020, another important interconnection project was put in operation and regional cooperation was considerably strengthened. In that context the EEPR played a key role in the financial support to major infrastructures of common interest for the integration of the electricity and gas markets and the reinforcement of the security of supply. I. PROGRESS IN PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION Energy infrastructure and innovation, the driving forces behind the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR), remain as important now as they were in 2009 when the EEPR was set up. This report sets out, for each part of the EEPR, the progress made in implementing the projects and the European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEEF). It follows the report adopted in 2020 . It covers the implementation of the projects between 1st January 2020 and 31 December 2020 and the payments made during that period. II. OVERALL PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION By the end of December 2020, 46 (+1 compared to 2019) projects out of 59 have been completed and a total amount of € 2,571,908,648 (after deduction of the recovery orders for an amount of € 203,322,313) has been paid to the beneficiaries (see Annex). The situation for the gas and electricty infrastructures is as follows: most of the projects are completed and two projects are on going. Substantial progress was made by the promoters for the Offshore Wind Energy (OWE) integration in the grid whilst the project promoters of the last remaining Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project decided to stop their financial support to the project. The Commission has opted for maintaining its financial support to the investors as long as it remains clear that a Final Investment Decision (FID) is possible and the project continues to provide substantial value for society. 1. gas and electricity infrastructure The EEPR infrastructure sub-programme has supported 44 projects in three major areas of activities (Gas interconnectors, Gas reverse flow and Electricity). A total amount of € 2,267,574,462 has been committed, of which € 1,675,770,713 has been disbursed to the beneficiaries by 31 December 2020. Payments are subject to the beneficiaries' firm commitment to implement the project through a Final Investment Decision.

1.1.progress to date To date, 38 (no change compare to 2019 as no project ended in 2020) out of the 44 infrastructure projects have been completed, four were terminated and two projects are on-going. In the electricity sector, all the 12 projects have been completed. In the gas interconnectors area, 13 out of 18 projects have been completed; two are progressing according to new rescheduling, and three have been terminated. In the area of reverse flow and interconnection projects in Central and Eastern Europe, 13 projects have been completed, and one project in Romania was terminated by the Commission in September 2014. Since the last EEPR implementation report, the following progress can be highlighted in particular : -The Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) is a key route to carry gas from TAP and Greek LNG to the north and is an important project for the diversification of gas supply in the South-East European region. It is a project of common interest (PCI 6.8.1) and a Central and South Eastern Europe energy connectivity (CESEC) priority project. The Commission has provided political and financial support to the project since the beginning. The project has received €45 million from the European Energy Programme for Recovery and €39 million from the European Regional Development Fund. Project construction made further progress in 2020 and is forseen to be completed by end 2021. Testing and commissioning is planned for H1 2022. -In the Republic of Cyprus, the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry is preparing the implementation of a natural gas receiving terminal, which will contribute to the diversification of the Cypriot energy mix and contribute to ending the energy isolation of the island, as well as facilitate competition in gas fueled power generation from independent producers. Natural gas is expected to enter the Cyprus market by end 2022. To date, it is foreseen that these two on-going projects should be completed respectively by end 2021 and end 2022. 2. Offshore Wind Energy (OWE) Projects 2.1 Progress to date The Offshore Wind sub-programme consisted of 9 projects receiving € 565 million of support split between two main types of activities: - Large-scale testing, manufacturing and deployment of innovative turbines and offshore foundation structures (6 projects); and - Development of module-based solutions for the grid integration of large amounts of wind electricity transmission (3 projects). 7 of 9 projects have been completed and 2 were terminated prematurely. € 399,945,664 (after deduction of recovery orders) were paid to the projects. 2.2 Progress to date by sector 2.2.1 Progress with Innovative Turbines and Offshore Structures

For the Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm, the eleven wind turbines with the world's largest capacity (8,8 MW per turbine at that time, today there are turbines with a power rating of 12 MW) started operations at Vattenfall's offshore wind farm 'Aberdeen Bay' on 1 July 2018. In September 2018 the official opening of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm) took place. The last reporting for the project has been submitted and approved in July 2020.. 2.2.2 Progress with Wind-Grid Integration In general, the execution of the two remaining projects, Kriegers Flak and COBRAcable, progressed as expected. In September 2019, the interconnector COBRAcable between Denmark and the Netherlands was commissioned. The project COBRAcable ended in December 2019. The final report submitted in March 2020 has been approved and the project has been closed. Kriegers Flak - the Combined Grid Solution - became operational in December 2020, which was also the project end date. The final report, submitted in March 2021, has been approved and the final reporting of the project has been closed. 3. Carbon Capture and Storage The EEPR sub-programme consisted of 6 projects and € 1 billion of support aiming at demonstrating the full carbon capture, transport and storage process. One project (Compostilla in Spain) was finished providing operational pilot plants for capture, transport and storage. Four projects have been terminated prematurely due to the decision of the project promoters not to invest, one project ended without being completed. € 387,099,179 (after deduction of recovery orders for a total amount of € 145,294,400) were paid to these projects. III. EUROPEAN ENERGY EFFICIENCY FUND (EEEF) In December 2010, € 146.3 million from the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR) were allocated to a financial facility for sustainable energy projects. € 125 million were used as the EU contribution to the European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEEF). The EEEF was created in July 2011 and reached a total volume of € 265 million , supported by a Technical Assistance Grant Facility with a budget of € 20 million and € 1.3 million for awareness-raising activities. The Technical Assistance Grant Facility allowed supporting investments helping to reach the ambitious EU climate targets in several Member States including Spain, Portugal, France, Denmark, UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium. Following the expiry of the deadline for allocating the Technical Assistance Grant Facility, in 2020 the Commission recovered back to the EU budget an amount of EUR 4,498,415 of the intital allocation (see Annex).The EEEF provides tailored financing (both debt and equity instruments) for energy efficiency, renewable energy and clean urban transport projects. Beneficiaries are local or regional public authorities or private entities acting on their behalf. 1.progress to date In 2020, one new transaction was added to the Fund’s portfolio : - The Dancer project in Lithuania involves the Fund and Dancer manufacturer establishing the company Dancer Mobility to provide all-inclusive operational lease services of electric buses manufactured in Lithuania to public authorities.The EEEF made the investment together with Vėjo Projektai, a Lithuanian manufacturer of electric Dancer buses, two of which have already been purchased by the City of Klaipėda in Lithuania.The purchase of e-buses and their operation will be financed by Dancer Mobility. All-inclusive operational leases provided by Dancer Mobility to public authorities will cover bus usage, charging infrastructure, green energy supply and full maintenance. Dancer is an innovative model of bus designed and developed entirely by young engineers of Klaipėda in cooperation with 3 European universities. It is a super-low weight (9.8 tons), fully-electric city bus with capacity of up to 93 passengers. Dancer is the lightest among its counterparts and has advanced noise reduction measures. It is considered to be extremely energy efficient and nearly vibration-free. From its creation and until 31 December 2020, the EEEF signed contracts with 18 projects worth €199 million, it generated an estimated €354.5 million of final investment.