North Sea Provides Strong Tail Winds to Climate Change Fight

The North Sea Wind Power Hub stands out as part of the development of offshore wind energy and interconnectivity in the region, European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič said ahead of the very first North Seas Energy Forum on March 23.

"The North Sea Wind Power Hub shows what human ingenuity can achieve when we work across Europe’s borders,” Šefčovič said. "This Wind Power Hub will reduce the costs of offshore wind energy and boost growth and jobs in this sector. It provides strong tail winds to our fight against climate change and to Europe’s global leadership in renewable energies.”

The North Seas Energy Forum, led by the European Commission, brings together representatives from the public, private and non-governmental sectors in the ten North Seas region countries, namely: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the Commission said on March 22. At the meeting, representatives of Dutch, Danish and German transmission system operators will also sign an agreement to develop the North Sea Wind Power Hub.

They will build a large artificial island in the North Sea that will link wind farms and transmit the electricity generated there to the entire North Sea region. In line with the Energy Union strategy for a stronger regional energy cooperation and market integration the project will allow these countries to trade electricity across their borders.

In 2016, the North Sea countries signed a Political Declaration at ministerial level, adopting an action plan for offshore wind development in the North Sea, accelerating the building of missing infrastructure links, aligning the regulatory framework and further integration of energy markets.