Abstract:

The article defines the concepts of “sustainability” and “competitiveness”, applied to the European energy sector. It then analyses various financing instruments that can drive these two objectives, like project finance, purely public subsidies and Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). Examining the financial, political and implementation risks of energy PPPs, it derives lessons for the institutional improvement of the Juncker Plan, the most ambitious PPP in the energy sector so far. Policy prescriptions comprise aspects related to greater transparency, higher risk taking for the European Investment Bank to avoid creaming the market, improving the equity of geographical distribution through capacity building.