The European Commission has awarded $10.4 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for energy interconnectors between Germany and Poland.

The project involves the construction of two gas transfer pipelines in the Polish region of Dolnośląskie, Lasów-Jeleniów and Gałów-Kiełczów.

The expansion of the Wierzchowice underground gas storage (UGS) facility is also being financed. The project will increase the capacity of pipelines importing gas from Germany through Lasów, and facilitate the transmission of gas between the two countries.

“Interconnectors are central to the completion of our Energy Union,” said Maroš Šefčovič, EC vice president for energy union.

“This is cohesion policy contributing to the Energy Union in action,” said Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu. “we provide households and businesses with secure, competitive and affordable energy.”

The 37 miles of new gas pipelines will help optimize the gas flow in the transmission system in Poland and cover the demand for gas in an area of three-million inhabitants, especially during winter.

The European Regional Development Fund covers all European Union member states and has a focus on four priority areas: research and innovation, the digital economy, small and mid-size enterprise competitiveness, and the low carbon economy. The ERDF also finances crossborder, transnational, and interregional co-operation under the EU’s territorial cooperation objective.

The ERDF’s current energy-related programs include adding capacity for renewable energy production, with a target of : 5,533 megawatts; improved energy efficiency in houses, with a target to reach over seven-hundred thousand households; decrease annual primary energy consumption in public buildings to reach over 4.6 billion kilowatt hours per year; increasing the number of additional energy users connected to smart grids to over 1.2 million users; and decrease greenhouse gas emissions of over 21 million tons per year.