Granting of EEPR assistance
1. EEPR assistance for carbon capture and storage projects shall be awarded to actions that implement the projects listed in Part C of the Annex.
2. The Commission shall call for proposals to identify the actions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and shall assess the compliance of the proposals with the eligibility criteria laid down in Article 18 and the selection and award criteria laid down in Article 19.
3. If several proposals from projects located in the same Member State comply with the eligibility criteria laid down in Article 18 and the selection criteria laid down in Article 19(1), the Commission shall select for EEPR assistance, on the basis of the award criteria in Article 19(2), no more than one proposal per Member State among those proposals.
4. The Commission shall inform the beneficiaries of any EEPR assistance to be granted.
Eligibility
1. Proposals shall be eligible for EEPR assistance only if they implement the projects listed in Part C of the Annex, fulfil the selection and award criteria under Article 19 and the following conditions:
(a)
the projects demonstrate that they have the ability to capture at least 80 % of CO 2 in industrial installations and to transport and geologically store this CO 2 safely underground;
(b)
in power installations, CO 2 capture is demonstrated on an installation of at least 250 MW electrical output or equivalent;
(c)
project promoters make a binding declaration that the generic knowledge generated by the demonstration plant will be made available to the wider industry and to the Commission to contribute to the Strategic Energy Technology Plan for Europe.
2. Proposals shall be submitted by one or several undertakings, acting jointly.
3. Proposals submitted by natural persons shall not be eligible.
Selection and award criteria
1. In assessing the proposals received under the call for proposals referred to in Article 17(2), the Commission shall apply the following selection criteria:
(a)
the soundness and technical adequacy of the approach;
(b)
maturity, defined as reaching the investment stage, which includes exploration and development of storage options, and incurring substantial investment-related expenditure for the project by the end of 2010;
(c)
the soundness of the financial package for the full investment phase of the project;
(d)
identification of all necessary permits required for construction and operation of the project at the proposed site(s) and the existence of a strategy to secure those permits.
2. In assessing the proposals received under the call for proposals referred to in Article 17(2), the Commission shall apply the following award criteria:
(a)
the extent to which lack of access to finance is delaying the implementation of the action;
(b)
requested funding per tonne of CO 2 to be abated in the first five years of operation of the project;
(c)
the complexity of the project and level of innovation of the overall installation including other accompanying research activities and the commitment demonstrated by the beneficiaries to disseminate to other European operators the results of the technological advances made by the project in a manner compatible with Community law and in particular with the objectives and structures outlined in the Strategic Energy Technology Plan for Europe;
(d)
the soundness and adequacy of the management plan including, in relation to the scientific, engineering and technical information and data contained therein, demonstration of readiness of the proposed concept to achieve operation of the project by 31 December 2015.
Funding conditions
1. EEPR assistance shall contribute only to project-related expenditure for the implementation of the project which is attributable to carbon capture, transport and storage, taking account of possible operating benefits.
2. EEPR assistance shall not exceed 80 % of total eligible investment costs.
Instruments
1. Following the call for proposals referred to in Article 17(2), the Commission, acting in accordance with the management procedure referred to in Article 26(2), shall select the proposals to receive EEPR assistance and determine the amount of EEPR assistance to be granted. The Commission shall specify the conditions and methods for the implementation of the proposals.
2. EEPR assistance shall be granted on the basis of grant agreements.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
