The European Commission has published a Roadmap to the development and integration of offshore renewable energy by 2030 and 2050.
As part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission identified the importance of agreeing on a new approach for exploiting Europe’s offshore renewable energy potential in a sustainable and inclusive way.
The revised Commission Work Programme confirmed that a European offshore renewable energy strategy would be published before the end of 2020, aimed at giving a strategic direction for the development of offshore renewable energy.
The Commission has now opened a four week period for public feedback on this roadmap, as well as a broader public consultation about different elements that this initiative will cover.
The aim is to gather views and input on the concepts from a broad range of stakeholders, ranging from national, regional, and local authorities, to businesses, unions, civil society organisations, education organisations, consumer groups, research and innovation organisations, as well as individual citizens. The consultation will be open for ten weeks.
The broad aim of the initiative is to make it easier for the different forms of offshore renewable energy – notably offshore wind, but also tidal and ocean energy – to fulfil their potential in the most efficient and competitive way, while also respecting the environment.
Given the potential for creating growth and jobs in the offshore renewables sector, the initiative was identified as crucial for boosting investments and future EU-wide deployment of offshore renewables, as recognised by the EU package for recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, building on the “Next Generation EU” instrument.
Several elements will be covered by the initiative aiming at future actions to scale up offshore renewable generation, distribution, and use in view of reaching climate neutrality by 2050.
The scope of the strategy covers all European seas: North Sea, Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Black Sea, as well as the Atlantic Ocean.