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Eight European Union countries and Norway have agreed to make the North Sea the top source of sustainable energy in Europe, targeting to award 15 gigawatts in wind project capacity per year collectively.
The minimum auction target translates to almost 100 GW in awarded wind capacity between 2023 and 2030.
Agreed at a meeting in the Hague this week, the tender plan hopes to provide certainty to companies. It builds on the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) agreement reached September 12, 2022.
The nations party to the NSEC are Norway and EU members Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden. The United Kingdom attended this week’s meeting in NSEC co-chair the Netherlands as a guest, according to a press release by the EU Directorate-General of Energy.
“NSEC ministers will take action to increase visibility and predictability for the entire supply chain by enhancing coordination, including cooperation on ports infrastructure, access to raw materials, pipes and cables”, said an official joint statement for the meeting.
“As a first step we will publish a joint NSEC offshore wind energy tender planning for the coming years to demonstrate that national governments translate ambitious targets into concrete action”, added the statement, accessible on the European Commission website.
“This enables investments into the supply chain in Europe, including port infrastructure. Moreover, we will seek to get investors on board and unlock final investment decisions by giving long term investment signals in order to boost investor confidence”.
The news release by the Directorate-General for Energy also said the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity would in January 2024 publish a shared plan for infrastructure development in the North Sea with input from NSEC states. “This plan takes into account the need for a fair balance with other sectors and users in the North Sea, such as the fishing- and transport industry”, the directorate said.
It noted increasing “challenges such as high inflation and increased resource prices, limited availability of labor, and complex licensing systems” in the wind power sector.
“For a healthy offshore energy sector and an energy-independent Europe, closer cooperation amongst Member States and the industry is required”, the directorate said.
The wind power collaboration ultimately helps Europe achieve energy system integration by 2050, the directorate said.
“Europe’s energy mix is becoming cleaner and greener, and offshore renewables will have an indispensable part in the future energy mix”, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simon said in a statement. “The North Sea is leading the way in their deployment, and has the potential to become Europe’s ‘Green Power Plant’”.
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