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North Sea's potential realised

By: Lewis Holdsworth 08/04/2015 4C Offshore

General Grid Windfarms

A letter was sent last night by EWEA stating the importance of over seas collaboration for the North seas grid. The letter was written in time for the energy council in Luxembourg next week. It raises concerns about the possible reduction in fossil fuels and potential for Europe's offshore wind energy in 2030.

Businesses within the Industry such as Siemens, SSE and Senvion agreed that it is important to work on over seas collaboration.

The letter is as follows:

'Dear Energy Minister

The Informal Energy Council on 16 April 2015 will focus on the role of regional cooperation
in implementing EU’s objectives. We are writing to emphasise the key role of the North Seas
Offshore Grid as a building block for Europe’s Energy Union.

We strongly welcome the vision outlined in the European Commission’s 25 February 2015
Communication for an integrated and interconnected European Energy Union that makes
best use of Europe’s clean energy resources. However, we are concerned that references to
North Seas offshore grid collaboration were left out of the final text of the Commission’s
Energy Union strategy framework.

North Seas offshore grid collaboration will be a key strategic element for turning this vision
into a reality. Offshore wind in Europe’s Northern Seas has the potential to generate over
8% of Europe’s power by 2030, reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels and enabling
large scale industrial activity and high-skilled employment in a wide variety of ports and
cities. Coordination on planning and building a regional offshore grid infrastructure, market
access and reserve sharing in the North Seas region could lead to cost savings of €5-13
billion per year by 2030 through a better integrated and more competitive regional market.

Countries across the region have been collaborating since 2009 in the North Seas Countries
Offshore Grid Initiative and there is a well-developed investment pipeline of over €100
billion by 2030. However, in order for this work to achieve tangible results, including
delivering the investment at the lowest cost possible, stronger political support is needed
from Member States. Discussions at the Informal Energy Council should therefore include:

1. An endorsement of the North Seas Offshore Grid as a key focus for enhanced
regional cooperation as part of Europe’s Energy Union;

2. A proposal to agree on a legal framework during the 2016 Dutch Presidency in the
form of an Intergovernmental Agreement that defines a shared North Sea
electricity strategy;

3. A proposal for establishing a multi-country Investment Platform for the North Sea
in order to increase the visibility of the project pipeline, attract private and
institutional investors, and enable a lower cost of capital.'

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North Sea's potential realised

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