German offshore wind vital to EU target

Germany’s plan for a massive expansion of offshore wind farms has now been approved by the European Commission. The goal is to ramp up the construction target from 15 GW by 2030 to 20 GW. By 2040 the goal is to have wind farms that provide 40 GW of capacity.

The plan will include a price premium over 20 years to developers of designated offshore wind locations allocated through “open and transparent competitive tenders”, the Commission stated. Subsidies will be granted to developers submitting the lowest bids. The Commission’s approval for the plan is valid until 2026.

A contribution of 20 GW offshore wind capacity by 2030 would bring the EU closer to the target of 60 GW by 2030 set by the EU Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy that the EU Commission tabled last year. It mapped out the regulatory framework for the expansion and set a target of 300 GW for offshore wind for the EU by 2050, 25 times more than the EU has today.

Europe invested €26.3 billion in new offshore wind farms in 2020, financing 7.1 GW of new capacity, despite the COVID pandemic, according to WindEurope. “€26 billion in new investments in 2020 is a huge vote of confidence in offshore wind. Investors see that offshore wind is cheap, reliable, and resilient – and that governments want more of it,” said Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope. Dickson added “Let’s keep up this momentum. We now need a comprehensive legislative framework for hybrid offshore wind projects, improved maritime spatial planning and streamlined permitting procedures to unleash the full potential of Europe’s offshore wind”.

Source: ENDS, March 30th 2021

https://www.endseurope.com/article/1711482/commission-approves-german-scheme-become-offshore-wind-giant

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German offshore wind vital to EU target

In this issue

EU industrial air pollution cost up to €433 billion per year

Editorial

Recycled batteries reduce dependence on imported raw materials

CO₂ emissions from the cement industry can be reduced without CCS

Norway’s romantically named Longship CCS project

Looking back over 40 years

Agri-PV a useful synergy between agriculture and solar energy

Direct Air Capture: Billionaires dream of vacuuming carbon out of the atmosphere

Opportunities for the Renewable Energy Directive

2021 – the make or break year for climate action

In Breif

Clean air possible without lockdown

EP wants air quality law reforms

Restrict traffic in cities to tackle air pollution

Phase-out shipping emissions

Costs of shipping in the Baltic Sea

Turkey bans open-loop scrubbers

Lisbon going for electric ferries

Big benefits of shore-side electricity

Deteriorated rivers breathe out greenhouse gases

101 Nobel Prize laureates urge leaders to end fossil fuel expansion

Carbon dioxide levels are now higher than at any time in the past 3.6 million years

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Publications

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Northern forests, climate change and the UNFCCC

EU climate targets aligned with the Paris agreement’s 1.5°C objective

Baltic Sea Offshore Wind Collaborative-Learning project

Air pollution in Europe and children’s health

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