Overview
- Energy ministers from nine North Sea countries signed the Hamburg Declaration to work toward up to 100 GW of cross-border offshore wind by 2050, building on the region’s 300 GW ambition.
- Governments, industry and transmission system operators also signed an Offshore Wind Investment Pact aiming to mobilise around EUR 1 trillion, with a collective build rate of 15 GW per year from 2031 to 2040.
- Policy measures include making two-sided Contracts for Difference the standard for offshore auctions and removing regulatory barriers to power purchase agreements to lower financing costs.
- TSOs will identify about 20 GW of promising cross-border and hybrid projects by 2027 for deployment in the 2030s, set cost-sharing principles, and coordinate offshore grid planning.
- Leaders cast the plan as a push for energy security that reduces reliance on Russian supplies and heavy U.S. LNG dependence, with offshore hydrogen, permitting acceleration and grid upgrades highlighted as next steps and delivery risks.