EU Member States target 88 GW of offshore renewable energy by 2030 and 360 GW by 2050

EU Member States have reached non-binding agreements to update their goals for the deployment of offshore renewable energy up to 2050, with intermediate objectives to be achieved by 2030 and 2040. Combined, the Member States expect to install about 88 GW of offshore renewable generation capacity by 2030, and around 360 GW by 2050. The agreements define the regions into the five different sea basins, namely Northern Seas offshore grids (NSOG, target of 57 GW by 2030 and 216-219 GW by 2050), Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan offshore grids (BEMIP offshore, 20 GW by 2030 and 58 GW by 2050), South and West offshore grids (SW offshore, 1-2 GW by 2030 and 11-12 GW by 2050), Atlantic offshore grids (4-5 GW by 2030 and 46.5-51.6 GW by 2050), and South and East offshore grids (SE offshore, over 4 GW by 2030 and 25 GW by 2050). Full details of the respective non-binding agreements per sea basin will be published shortly. 

The updated goals are supported by the cooperation instruments and tools established in the revised Regulation on trans-European energy networks (TEN-E Regulation). This framework will allow for a cost-effective expansion of the grids needed to incorporate the expected offshore renewable generation, tackling internal bottlenecks where they occur and incurring the least environmental impact. 

Now, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for electricity (ENTSO-E) will update strategic integrated offshore network development plans (ONDPs) to give visibility to grid promoters, investors and the supply chain on what offshore grids to expect for each of Europe’s five sea basins by 2050.