The North Seas Cooperation is a cooperation on offshore wind and electricity grids in the North Sea between Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the European Commission are currently members of the NSEC. Since the withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 31st January 2020, the UK participate on a technical level.
The aim of the North Seas Energy Cooperation
The European Commission has estimated that the European Union will need 300 GigaWatt offshore wind power by 2050 to meet its target to become climate neutral. It has been estimated by experts that the North Seas has the potential to reach at least half of this target. The aim of the cooperation is to facilitate the cost-effective deployment of offshore renewable energy, in particular wind, and promoting interconnection between the countries in the region. The cooperation will make this possible by:
- Standardising and harmonising rules and demands for offshore wind turbines
- Coordinating the timing for tenders and developing a best practice for the design of tenders
- Promoting economies of scale
- Sharing the newest knowledge on how offshore wind can be established, in the most cost-effective way
With the North Seas Energy Cooperation, a harmonisation of rules and demands can lead to a reduction in production costs, since companies no longer have to adapt to individual needs from every single country, but will be able to produce from one common standard. This will be able to further reduce the price for offshore wind turbines for the good of both consumers and companies.