Nine nations bordering the North Sea have announced plans to massively increase offshore wind power in the coming decades as part of an effort to both combat climate change and to become independent of fossil fuel imports.
German officials said members of the North Seas Energy Cooperation aim to expand offshore wind power generation in the North Sea to 76 GW by 2030. It also aims to achieve 193 GW by 2040 and 260 GW by 2050. Germany’s Economy and Energy Ministry said that current generation capacity in the North Sea is less than 20 GW.
The countries involved include: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. The UK is not a member of the group, having left the EU. Nonetheless, the UK has its own aggressive offshore wind power programme for the North Sea.