The European energy infrastructure package and its implications for the environmental impact assessment regime : the case of Austria

Abstract

The European Strategy 2020 aims for high goals for European energy consumption, efficiency and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. At the same time, energy networks essential to achieving these targets are unfit for the challenge and outdated. In order to tackle this problem, the European Union has issued the Energy Infrastructure Package to identify priority corridors and areas for network improvement and enable project developers to realise projects within that frame that encounter difficulties. One source of such difficulties is often the mandatory environmental impact assessment such networks projects have to undergo. Therefore, the Energy Infrastructure Package (EIP) introduces a number of changes and adjustments of the assessment for these projects. This paper examines both the environmental impact assessment regime in Austria and the Energy Infrastructure Package and outlines the relationship between the two instruments. Moreover, consequences for project developers as well as the public are analysed in a comparison of the different regimes. One of the significant findings emerging from this research is that the EIP offers considerable benefits to both project developers and the public. While developers profit from shorter permit granting procedures and financial assistance, the public enjoys more rights regarding transparency and early involvement in the project planning. On the other hand, additional requirements in time scheduling increase the administrative burden on project developers. In general, thus, the EIP brings advantages as well as drawbacks and only the actual application by developers and authorities will show the real value of the package-s introduction.