Abstract
North Seas countries have ambitious goals for offshore wind energy in order to achieve climate neutrality goals and meet the increasing demand for electricity. The EU strategy on offshore renewable energy sets targets of at least 120GW of offshore wind energy by 2030 and 300GW by 2050. The North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) supports and facilitates the implementation of these ambitions including the offshore grid developments in the North Seas. The large-scale installation of offshore wind energy potentially has (significant) impacts on the ecology of the North Seas both in the installation- and in the operational phase. As such, countries have independently carried out research and have taken efforts to implement measures to prevent, mitigate or compensate adhere effects. In order to achieve effective prevention, mitigation or compensation of the environmental impact of offshore wind energy it is necessary to account for the transboundary nature of ecological impacts. This requires a coherent prevention, mitigation and compensation strategy. As such, it is necessary to assess what is the current state of development, what research has been done, what measures are currently being implemented by North Seas countries and investigate whether there is a need for cooperation.
This project contributes by mapping the preventive, mitigation and compensation measures in place and future ambitions of wind development in NSEC and allied countries (Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium and Ireland, and including the NSEC guest the UK). Additionally, it explores if there is broad support for further cooperation between these countries. Although not all countries are in the same stage of offshore wind development, all countries are concerned about cumulative effects of the increasing amounts of offshore wind energy. Information was gathered by performing interviews with offshore wind energy experts from the above mentioned countries in August and September 2023. In those interviews the focus was on the governance setting, research and monitoring, applied and planned preventive, mitigation and compensation measures and wishes for international cooperation.