Energy Ministers from nine European countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Work Programme to enhance their cooperation on renewable energy, particularly in the area of offshore wind. At a meeting in Luxembourg at the start of July, the Ministers of Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, France, Denmark, Ireland and Belgium signed the agreement, which aims to reduce costs and accelerate the deployment of wind power at sea.

The agreement outlines a number of actions to help reduce costs in offshore wind, including cooperation on spatial planning, grids, finance, technical standards and regulation such as health and safety rules. The MoU also highlights the need to coordinate the timing of offshore wind tenders and explore options for joint support schemes.

Commenting on the agreement, WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson said in a statement that it was a major step towards fully realising the potential of offshore wind in Europe. “It’s a good combination of top-down and bottom-up: top-down political commitment to take bottom-up practical action to reduce costs and facilitate the deployment of offshore wind.… It’s a clear statement of intent that gives confidence to the offshore wind industry and will help drive further investments,” he said.

The signing of the MoU came on the same day as 11 leading energy companies signed a declaration saying offshore wind could reduce costs to €80/MWh. The signatories of the declaration noted that, with the right build out and regulatory framework the industry was confident that it could achieve cost levels below €80/MWh for projects reaching final investment decision in 2025, including the costs of connecting to the grid. This means offshore wind will be fully competitive with new conventional power generation within a decade.