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RULES AND INDICATORS CONCERNING CRITERIA FOR PROJECTS (1) A project of common interest with a significant cross-border impact shall be a project on the territory of a Member State and shall fulfil the following conditions:

(a) for electricity transmission, the project increases the grid transfer capacity, or the capacity available for commercial flows, at the border of that Member State with one or several other Member States, having the effect of increasing the cross-border grid transfer capacity at the border of that Member State with one or several other Member States, by at least 500 Megawatts (MW) compared to the situation without commissioning of the project, or the project decreases energy isolation of non-interconnected systems in one or more Member States and increases the cross-border grid transfer capacity at the border between two Member States by at least 200 MW;

(b) for electricity storage, the project provides at least 225 MW installed capacity and has a storage capacity that allows a net annual electricity generation of 250 GW-hours/year;

(c) for smart electricity grids, the project is designed for equipment and installations at high-voltage and medium-voltage level, and involves TSOs, TSOs and DSOs, or DSOs from at least two Member States. The project may involve only DSOs provided that they are from at least two Member States and provided that interoperability is ensured. The project shall satisfy at least two of the following criteria: it involves 50 000 users, generators, consumers or prosumers of electricity, it captures a consumption area of at least 300 GW hours/year, at least 20 % of the electricity consumption linked to the project originates from variable renewable resources, or it decreases energy isolation of non-interconnected systems in one or more Member States. The project does not need to involve a physical common border. For projects related to small isolated systems as defined in Article 2, point (42), of Directive (EU) 2019/944, including islands, those voltage levels shall be equal to the highest voltage level in the relevant electricity system;

(d) for hydrogen transmission, the project enables the transmission of hydrogen across the borders of the Member States concerned, or increases existing cross-border hydrogen transport capacity at a border between two Member States by at least 10 % compared to the situation prior to the commissioning of the project, and the project sufficiently demonstrates that it is an essential part of a planned cross-border hydrogen network and provides sufficient proof of existing plans and cooperation with neighbouring countries and network operators or, for projects decreasing energy isolation of non-interconnected systems in one or more Member States, the project aims to supply, directly or indirectly, at least two Member States;

(e) for hydrogen storage or hydrogen reception facilities referred to in point (3) of Annex II, the project aims to supply, directly or indirectly, at least two Member States;

(f) for electrolysers, the project provides at least 50 MW installed capacity provided by a single electrolyser or by a set of electrolysers that form a single, coordinated project and brings benefits directly or indirectly to at least two Member States, and, specifically, as regards projects on islands and island systems, supports innovative and other solutions involving at least two Member States with a significant positive impact on the Union’s 2030 targets for energy and climate and its 2050 climate neutrality objective, and contributes significantly to the sustainability of the island energy system and that of the Union;

(g) for smart gas grids, a project involves TSOs, TSOs and DOS or DSOs from at least two Member States. DSOs may be involved, but only with the support of the TSOs of at least two Member States that are closely associated to the project and ensure interoperability;

(h) for offshore renewable electricity transmission, the project is designed to transfer electricity from offshore generation sites with capacity of at least 500 MW and allows for electricity transmission to onshore grid of a specific Member State, increasing the volume of renewable electricity available on the internal market. The project shall be developed in the areas with low penetration of offshore renewable electricity and shall demonstrate a significant positive impact on the Union’s 2030 targets for energy and climate and its 2050 climate neutrality objective and shall contribute significantly to the sustainability of the energy system and market integration while not hindering the cross-border capacities and flows;

(i) for carbon dioxide projects, the project is used to transport and, where applicable, store anthropogenic carbon dioxide originating from at least two Member States.

(2) A project of mutual interest with significant cross-border impact shall be a project and shall fulfil the following conditions:

(a) for projects of mutual interest in the category set out in point (1)(a) and (f) of Annex II, the project increases the grid transfer capacity, or the capacity available for commercial flows, at the border of that Member State with one or more third countries and brings significant benefits, either directly or indirectly (via interconnection with a third country), under the specific criteria listed in in Article 4(3), at Union level. The calculation of the benefits for the Member States shall be performed and published by the ENTSO for Electricity in the frame of Union-wide ten-year network development plan;

(b) for projects of mutual interest in the category set out in point (3) of Annex II, the hydrogen project enables the transmission of hydrogen across at the border of a Member State with one or more third countries and proves bringing significant benefits, either directly or indirectly (via interconnection with a third country) under the specific criteria listed in Article 4(3), at Union level. The calculation of the benefits for the Member States shall be performed and published by the ENTSO for Gas in the frame of Union-wide ten-year network development plan;

(c) for projects of mutual interest in the category set out in point (5) of Annex II, the project can be used to transport and store anthropogenic carbon dioxide by at least two Member States and a third country.

(3) Concerning projects falling under the energy infrastructure categories set out in point (1)(a), (b), (c), (d) and (f) of Annex II, the criteria listed in Article 4 shall be evaluated as follows:

(a) transmission of renewable energy generation to major consumption centres and storage sites, measured in line with the analysis made in the latest available Union-wide ten-year network development plan in electricity, in particular by:

(i) for electricity transmission, estimating the amount of generation capacity from renewable energy sources (by technology, in MW), which is connected and transmitted due to the project, compared to the amount of planned total generation capacity from those types of renewable energy sources in the Member State concerned in 2030 according to the National Energy and Climate Plans submitted by Member States in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1999;

(ii) or energy storage, comparing new capacity provided by the project with total existing capacity for the same storage technology in the area of analysis as set out in Annex V;

(b) market integration, competition and system flexibility, measured in line with the analysis made in the latest available Union-wide ten-year network development plan in electricity, in particular by:

(i) calculating, for cross-border projects, including reinvestment projects, the impact on the grid transfer capability in both power flow directions, measured in terms of amount of power (in MW), and their contribution to reaching the minimum 15 % interconnection target, and for projects with significant cross-border impact, the impact on grid transfer capability at borders between relevant Member States, between relevant Member States and third countries or within relevant Member States and on demand-supply balancing and network operations in relevant Member States;

(ii) assessing the impact, for the area of analysis as set out in Annex V, in terms of energy system-wide generation and transmission costs and evolution and convergence of market prices provided by a project under various planning scenarios, in particular taking into account the variations induced on the merit order;

(c) security of supply, interoperability and secure system operation, measured in line with the analysis made in the latest available Union-wide ten-year network development plan in electricity, in particular by assessing the impact of the project on the loss of load expectation for the area of analysis as set out in Annex V in terms of generation and transmission adequacy for a set of characteristic load periods, taking into account expected changes in climate-related extreme weather events and their impact on infrastructure resilience. Where applicable, the impact of the project on independent and reliable control of system operation and services shall be measured.

(4) Concerning projects falling under the energy infrastructure category set out in point (1)(e) of Annex II, the criteria listed in Article 4 shall be evaluated as follows:

(a) the level of sustainability, measured by assessing the extent of the ability of the grids to connect and transport variable renewable energy;