Leaders and ministers from nine European countries signed a declaration in Belgium on 24 April 2023 to accelerate the deployment of offshore wind power in the North Sea.

The joint goal is to more than quadruple current production to 120 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and to at least 300 GM by 2050.

Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that the attendance of eight European countries plus the United Kingdom at the ministerial level showed “a very real shared commitment to accelerating the transition to a green energy future and harnessing the immense potential of offshore renewables.”

Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman

Important step but not simple

“The step that has been taken today is very important from our point of view because it includes heads of state,” Jan Vande Putte, Greenpeace Belgium’s energy and nuclear campaigner, told Euronews.

“It is a declaration that is more formal than previous declarations, and I believe, more significant, a much clearer commitment.”

“It’s a good direction, but the ambition should be very high … But it won’t be simple logistically,” Vande Putte added. “This will be something to monitor year-by-year to make sure that we have not missed these objectives.”

German Chancellar Olaf Scholz stressed that Europe’s power grids, which he described as its “lifelines”, also need to be expanded at the same pace as the wind farms so that electricity produced in the North Sea can reach industrial regions in southern Germany and elsewhere.

Massive expansion on the horizon

Britain has 45 offshore wind farms producing 14GW, with plans to expand capacity to 50GW by 2030. Germany has 30 producing 8GW, followed by the Netherlands with 2.8GW and Denmark and Belgium, both with 2.3GW.

France aims to expand massively to 40GW by 2050, an official said. They added: “Offshore wind energy will probably be the main source of renewable energy production between 2030 and 2050, far ahead of solar energy and land wind farms.”

The investment required to ensure the North Sea wind energy targets are met is huge, the Guardian reports – the EU recently calculated €800bn would be needed to reach 300GW by 2050 – and wind energy companies have said significant state funding will be essential.