Nations in the North Sea pledge to quadruple offshore wind capacity by 2030
Source: https://www.ecowatch.com/north-sea-nations-offshore-wind-development.html
Author: Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
Several European countries surrounding the North Sea are ready to commit to quadrupling their offshore wind power capacity by 2030 as they set out to turn the region into an enormous renewable energy hub.
At the second North Sea Summit, held in the seaside town of Ostend, Belgium on Monday, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Germany will all commit to developing green energy “islands” connected to renewable power generation sites offshore and to quickly constructing wind farms, repod Reuters. The coalition will also begin offshore renewable hydrogen projects.
“We need offshore wind turbines — and we need a lot of them,” the countries’ leaders wrote in a joint op-ed in Politico. “We need them to reach our climate goals, and to rid ourselves of Russian gas, ensuring a more secure and independent Europe.”
The coalition of nine countries has a goal of having 120 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity in the North Sea by 2030, and more than twice that by 2050, Reuters repod. According to WindEurope, an association promoting the use of European wind power, the countries currently have 30 GW of offshore wind capacity.
“In response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and attempts of energy blackmail against Europe we will accelerate our efforts to reduce fossil fuel consumption as well as dependence on fossil fuel imports,” a draft of the countries’ declaration said, as repod by Reuters.