EU offshore wind energy initiative
05.01.2010 / GiNN-BerlinKontor.— The Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology recalls that representatives of all North Sea neighbouring states and Ireland established a North Sea offshore initiative with a political declaration (“North Seas Countries’ Offshore Grid Initiative”) on 17th December 2009. For the first time all EU North Sea neighbouring states are working together specifically on issues of offshore plant grid connections.
The German Minister for Economics Rainer BRÜDERLE (FDP) said: “The initiative is of great importance to Germany as a country with ambitious offshore development plans. It is addressing issues of grid connection and integration which are absolutely crucial for supplying wind energy to consumers and for the successful offshore generation of power. Resources from different participating countries are pooled together with the initiative. This is essential to be successful with such a complex subject. We have important tasks ahead of us: a radical redesign and modernisation of power grids, in fact the energy system in its entirety. The aim is the rapid expansion of renewable energy and its integration into an efficient grid network. We want to contribute to us leaping into the regenerative age as quickly as possible. This has to happen with state-of-the-art technology and in an economical way.”
The idea of the initiative was born in the so-called Pentalateral Energy Forum, an institutional collaboration on energy issues between the Benelux states, France and Germany. The aims of the North Sea offshore alliance are, amongst other things, an intensive exchange of information about participating countries’ offshore development aims and policies, stronger coordinated further development of the power infrastructure as well as the creation of a political and regulatory framework for international offshore development plans in the North Sea.
The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in which further action will be laid down is planned for the end of 2010.
The German Minister for Economics Rainer BRÜDERLE (FDP) said: “The initiative is of great importance to Germany as a country with ambitious offshore development plans. It is addressing issues of grid connection and integration which are absolutely crucial for supplying wind energy to consumers and for the successful offshore generation of power. Resources from different participating countries are pooled together with the initiative. This is essential to be successful with such a complex subject. We have important tasks ahead of us: a radical redesign and modernisation of power grids, in fact the energy system in its entirety. The aim is the rapid expansion of renewable energy and its integration into an efficient grid network. We want to contribute to us leaping into the regenerative age as quickly as possible. This has to happen with state-of-the-art technology and in an economical way.”
The idea of the initiative was born in the so-called Pentalateral Energy Forum, an institutional collaboration on energy issues between the Benelux states, France and Germany. The aims of the North Sea offshore alliance are, amongst other things, an intensive exchange of information about participating countries’ offshore development aims and policies, stronger coordinated further development of the power infrastructure as well as the creation of a political and regulatory framework for international offshore development plans in the North Sea.
The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in which further action will be laid down is planned for the end of 2010.