Ten European States have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to proceed further with the development of offshore windfarms of the North Seas covering a surface area of about 760,000 km².
3 December 2010: Ten European States have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to proceed with the development of a network of offshore windfarms in the North Seas covering a surface area of about 760,000 km².
Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, France, the UK, Ireland, Norway and Belgium have agreed on a schedule to coordinate investments and find solutions to the technical and administrative challenges in planning energy transport network and its operation in the North Sea, the Channel, Celtic Sea and Irish Sea. Initial estimations show that 150 GW could be set up by 2030, producing 563 TWh, which will represent 16% of electricity consumption in Europe. By 2050, offshore grid could even be able to supply 46% of Europe’s energy consumption. [EU Press Release]