Wind Development Plan: 4 European Countries Commit To 150GW Offshore

Four European countries have signed a declaration committing to develop 150GW of offshore wind in the North Sea by 2050.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte met at the wind summit in the Port of Esbjerg, Denmark, to sign the declaration and commit to a common vision for offshore wind and related infrastructure in the North Sea.

The Esbjerg Declaration will see increased collaboration on joint offshore wind projects and the development of energy islands and offshore grid infrastructure.

The participants in the summit also intend to increase production of renewable hydrogen production in the North Sea, aiming to achieve 30GW of electrolyser capacity by 2030.

The summit took place as the European Commission announced the REPowerEU Action Plan, which emphasised the role of wind energy in increasing the EU’s energy security and weaning the region off Russian gas.