The European Union should make better use of current capacities, and
offer more support for less connected regions, members of the European
Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) said,
warning that doubling the capacity of a Russian-backed pipeline could
hurt EU energy security.
“Before supporting new regasification terminals, we need to promote
the most efficient use of existing LNG terminals with a cross border
perspective,” said the MEPs in the committee on energy when voting on
the draft non-legislative resolution dealing with liquefied natural gas
(LNG) and gas storage in the EU, according to a ITRE press release on
September 26.
MEPs also stressed that “regional cooperation and an adequate level
of gas interconnections and the removal of internal bottlenecks could
significantly improve the utilisation rate of existing gas storages”,
and expressed “concern at the proposed doubling of capacity of the Nord
Stream pipeline”.
MEPs noted the current “excess capacities in European gas storage”,
and called for more efficiency in their use in order “to avoid
technology lock-in or stranded assets in fossil fuel infrastructure and
to ensure that consumers do not have to bear the costs of any new
projects”. They suggested that harmonised tariff structures across the
EU and increased transparency in tariff definition could lead to a
higher utilisation rate of existing gas storages.
However, it is important to find “cost efficient and environmentally
sustainable energy supply options to increase long term supply security
for the Iberian Peninsula, Central and South East Europe, the Baltic
states and Ireland, which are not well connected and/or integrated to
the internal energy market,” MEPs said, highlighting also “the need to
support the most vulnerable countries that continue to remain energy
islands, such as Cyprus and Malta, in order to diversify their sources
and routes of supply”.
The doubling of capacity of the Nord Stream pipeline could have
counterproductive effects on energy security and diversification of
supply sources and the principle of solidarity among Member States, said
MEPs, stating that “if, contrary to European interests, Nord Stream 2
were to be built, it would necessarily require a sound assessment of LNG
terminals accessibility and a detailed state of play on the North-South
Gas Corridor”.
The draft non-legislative resolution is scheduled for plenary vote
during October II plenary session. Parliament’s recommendations will
feed into upcoming legislative proposals from the European Commission
related to the Energy Union, the ITRE press release said.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/meps-call-better-gas-storage-eu/