Britain is among ten European countries that have agreed to accelerate the rollout of offshore windfarms in the North Sea and build a vast subsea power grid, in a landmark pact to turn the ageing oil basin into a “clean energy reservoir”. The deal, signed in Hamburg by energy ministers from the UK, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway, aims to deliver 100 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity – enough to power 143 million homes.
The governments have pledged to collectively build at least 5GW of new offshore wind capacity each year between 2031 and 2040, supporting private sector investments. In return, more than 100 companies have signed an industry declaration to reduce costs and create 91,000 jobs. The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said the North Sea should become the “largest reservoir of clean energy worldwide”.
UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told the summit the Hamburg declaration was “a very strong answer to the doomsters, the defeatists, the naysayers” who have written off offshore wind. He said the UK was “standing up for our national interest by pushing for clean energy and getting off the fossil fuel rollercoaster”. Malgosia Bartosik, interim chief executive of WindEurope, said the pact could attract €1 trillion (£867bn) in offshore wind investment by 2040 and was “the best possible response to those who doubt Europe”.
The agreement comes less than a week after US President Donald Trump criticised European wind power, calling wind turbines “losers”. The UK also plans to work with Germany, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands on cross-border offshore electricity projects, with a focus on joint planning and cost sharing.
The latest pact reaffirms a 2023 commitment by North Sea countries to build 300GW of offshore wind in the area by 2050. Transmission grid owners expect to identify around 20GW of economically promising cross-border projects by 2027, which could include hybrid offshore wind farms connecting to multiple countries.
