EU and UK to Strengthen Energy Cooperation

Wedoany.com Report-Oct 09, WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson said: “The agreement is good news for electricity consumers and Europe’s wider energy security that the EU and UK want to strengthen their co-operation on energy. The EU wants to make the North Sea the renewable powerhouse of Europe – with a meshed offshore grid, cross-border electricity flows and hybrid offshore wind farms. The UK wants the same. Collaborating on it is a win-win no-brainer.”

There are already close energy ties between the EU and UK. There are electricity interconnectors with a total capacity of around 10 GW between them. And the UK imports around 10% of the electricity it consumes from the EU.

The EU and UK are both working to decarbonise their energy systems. The UK wants to reach net-zero electricity by 2040, the EU by 2050. They both want a massive expansion of offshore wind. The EU wants at least 300 GW of offshore wind by 2050, with around half of it in the North Sea. The UK wants 60 GW of offshore wind by 2030. And they both want to coordinate offshore wind development in the North Sea, including through wind farms that have grid connections both to the UK and mainland Europe.