Gas power stations

Subject: Gas power stations

The switch away from coal in Italy by 2025 will result in an 8 GW shortfall in the ENEL plants in Cerano (Brindisi), Civitavecchia, Sulcis, Fusina (Venice), Bastardo (Perugia) and La Spezia, and in two other plants operated by EP Produzione and A2A, although ENEL has stated that it will make it up with renewable sources and gas power stations.

It would appear that this conversion of centralised coal-burning stations to gas will be supported economically through the capacity market mechanism, even though the Clean Energy Package aims at a distribution system based on energy communities and local energy generation.

A2A has already presented its project for the conversion of Brindisi North: this will be a new power station, as the power station has been closed for some years and is already partly dismantled.

Environmental associations note that this is a shift from one fossil fuel to another, consequently delaying the clean-up of the sites.

In light of the above, does the Commission not agree that:

1) The installation of gas power stations in polluting sites delays and thwarts the clean-up operations to be implemented in accordance with Article 6 of Directive 2004/35/EC?

2) Each authorisation must be subject to a health impact assessment as referred to in Annex V to Directive 2011/92/EU?

3) The financing of the conversion of large coal-fired power stations is not among the objectives of the clean energy package?

Answer given by Mr Vella on behalf of the European Commission

(3 November 2019)

The information provided does not allow the Commission to establish to what extent Directive 2004/35/EC (1) on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage would be applicable in the context mentioned by the Honourable Member.

Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU (2) provides that Member States must ensure that, before development consent is given, projects likely to have significant effects on the environment are made subject to an assessment of the environmental effects.

These projects are defined in Article 4 which refers to Annex I and II of the directive. From the information provided by the Honourable Member it is not clear in which of the annexes the project in question (project for conversion of Brindisi North) falls into. Human health is amongst the factors to be identified, described and assessed in the environmental impact assessment

The Clean Energy Package does not contain provisions relating to the financing of the conversion of coal-fired or other power plants. The Clean Energy Package, however, sets out an EU framework for capacity mechanisms, helping to ensure that power plants (or demand-side facilities) are available to meet demand in times of scarcity.

Capacity mechanisms need to be open to all kinds of power generation technologies, subject to an emission threshold of 550 gr of CO2/kWh applicable to existing plants as of 1 July 2025 and new plants as of 4 July 2019. As the CO2 emissions of unabated coal- fired power plants are well above this threshold they will not be able to participate in capacity mechanisms as of these dates.

⋅1∙ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32004L0035

⋅2∙ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32014L0052