Energy ministers from ten EU states have signed an agreement pledging co-operation in the development of offshore wind energy in northern Europe.
The Ministers of Germany, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, France, Denmark, Ireland, Belgium and the UK have signed the agreement, which aims to accelerate the deployment of wind energy at sea as well as reduce costs.
The agreement was announced in early June, just as a consortium of 11 energy companies released a statement pledging to cut the costs of offshore wind energy to make it more competitive with conventional technologies.
GE, Adwen, RWE, E.On and Statoil among others say that "with the right build out and regulatory framework" they are confident they can achieve cost levels below €80/MWh for projects reaching final investment decision in 2025.
This target, which includes the costs of connecting to the grid, would make wind energy fully competitive with new conventional power generation within a decade. The companies, however, expressed concerns over the post-2020 regulatory environment for offshore wind and called on policy-makers to "set out clear visions for the industry".
Trade group WindEurope said that the ministers' announcement was a good indication of the political will backing offshore wind energy. "It's a good combination of top-down and bottom-up: top-down political commitment to take bottom-up practical action to reduce costs and facilitate the deployment of offshore wind," said Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope. "We congratulate the Ministers for the ambition they've shown and the Dutch Presidency for having made this happen.
"It's a clear statement of intent that gives confidence to the offshore wind industry and will help drive further investments."
Other companies signing the joint statement on cost reductions include Eneco, MHI Vestas, Siemens, Vattenfall, Iberdrola and EDP. They have stressed the need for a strong pipeline of projects to enable them to scale up deployment and realise savings in the supply chain.
"Costs can continue to come down quickly, but the volumes must be right," said Dickson. "The main challenge facing offshore wind today is the visibility of market size and regulation after 2020. Clear targets for deployment and tendering will unlock new investments, reduce the cost of capital and allow us to meet the cost reduction target."
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