Overview
- Ten European governments approved the Hamburg Declaration to jointly develop 100 GW of offshore wind projects with multi-country interconnectors, building toward the region’s 300 GW-by-2050 goal.
- The accompanying Offshore Wind Investment Pact commits to two-sided Contracts for Difference as the standard for auctions, removal of barriers to power purchase agreements, and deployment of about 15 GW per year from 2031 to 2040.
- Transmission system operators will pinpoint 20 GW of promising cross-border cooperation projects by 2027 and define cost-sharing principles for hybrid links that combine generation with interconnection.
- Industry signatories pledged a 30% offshore wind cost reduction toward 2040, about EUR 1 trillion in economic activity, 91,000 additional jobs, and EUR 9.5 billion for ports, manufacturing and vessels.
- Leaders cast the move as a bid for energy security and strategic sovereignty, even as Europe’s imports of U.S. LNG keep rising to expected records in 2026, and NATO and EU officials step up focus on protecting offshore infrastructure.