Governments from nine North Sea countries, together with industry and power grid operators, have formed an investment pact aimed at mobilizing up to $1.17 trillion (€1 trillion) in offshore wind investment and accelerating Europe’s buildout of offshore wind capacity.
Heads of State and Government and Energy Ministers from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom gathered in Hamburg for the North Sea Summit, where they confirmed their ambition to install 300 GW of offshore wind capacity in the North Seas by 2050.
The parties signed the Offshore Wind Investment Pact for the North Seas, supported by a Heads of State Declaration, an Energy Minister Declaration and an Industry Declaration signed by more than 100 offshore wind companies across the value chain.
Under the pact, governments committed to providing planning and investment security and to de-risk offshore wind projects. This includes a pledge to use two-sided Contracts for Difference as the standard auction mechanism for offshore wind and to remove regulatory barriers to power purchase agreements between generators and corporate electricity buyers.
Governments also committed to a coordinated and steady deployment of offshore wind, contributing to a collective target of installing 15GW per year across the North Seas between 2031 and 2040. The steady pipeline is intended to give confidence for investment in manufacturing capacity, port infrastructure and specialized vessels.
In return, Europe’s offshore wind industry pledged to cut the cost of offshore wind by 30% by 2040 compared with 2025 levels, driven by scale, lower financing costs and further industrialization. The industry said it would mobilize $1.17 trillion (€1 trillion) in economic activity, create 91,000 additional jobs and invest $11.1 billion (€9.5 billion) across the offshore wind value chain.
Transmission system operators committed to identifying cost-effective cross-border offshore wind cooperation projects in the North Seas. They aim to identify 20 GW of economically viable cross-border projects by 2027 for deployment in the 2030s, including hybrid offshore wind and interconnection projects, and to develop principles for sharing costs.
Europe currently has 37 GW of offshore wind installed across 13 countries, providing electricity from more than 6,000 turbines. Deployment has slowed in recent years due to rising financing costs, auction design issues and limited visibility for supply chains, challenges the pact aims to address.
“Today Europe doubles down on offshore wind. Government cooperation on offshore wind buildout can help crowd in $1.17 trillion (€1 trillion) of investments in the next decade. This is the best possible response to those who doubt Europe. And our drive to deliver energy that is homegrown, secure and affordable,” said Malgosia Bartosik, WindEurope Interim CEO.
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