The European Parliament approved a new strategy that will increase the targets for offshore wind in Europe tremendously.

Per the strategy, a minimum of 60GW in offshore wind capacity must be in place by 2030 against 12GW today, while the 2050 target is 300GW. That is nearly 30 times more than today’s installed capacity.

This also means that huge investments are needed to accelerate the green transition. The European Parliament expects total public investments in renewable energy sources to the tune of EUR 800bn towards 2050.

Ørsted enthusiastically welcomes the strategy.

”Many of the challenges and solutions necessary for enabling a more widespread, effective and sustainable build-out of offshore wind are global rather than national. That’s why we’re thrilled about the new report from the European Parliament,” says Ørsted Vice President, Head of Regulatory Affairs Ulrik Stridbæk.

In his view, the targets are within reach.

”We can reach the target of more than 300GW offshore capacity in EU by 2050. Time is running short, but we have an industry that’s ready. We have a mature value chain, and we have investors who are poised for a scale-up. But what we’re missing is the necessary framework.”

The new strategy serves as a response to a proposal put forth by the European Commission in 2020 in connection with the Fit for 55 climate package, which also included targets of 60GW of installed offshore wind by 2030 and 300GW by 2050.

An important addition to that proposal is that the European Parliament accentuates the importance of shortening bureaucratic procedures involved in obtaining permits.

At the same time, member nations are encouraged to pave the way for a transparent process and consider introducing deadlines for issuing permits.

Given that the regulatory initiative in the EU belongs to the European Commission, the strategy and recommendations must be viewed as a pressure ball in the negotiations on concrete legislation that are currently underway.

For Ørsted, it’s critical that the lawmakers get to work.

”We need clarity on legislation for energy islands; expanding grid infrastructure must take the future build-out of offshore wind into consideration; and we would like to see that maritime planning in Europe begins to better reflect net zero emission targets – in balance with considerations for biodiversity,” says Stridbæk.

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