Nine European governments have agreed to accelerate the expansion of offshore wind capacity in the North Sea to up to 100 gigawatts (GW), pledging to advance key cross-border projects that could cut electricity prices by as much as 30% by 2040, ministers said.
Energy ministers met in Hamburg on Monday, where Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Norway and Iceland signed a joint declaration with industry leaders committing to a major scale-up of offshore wind as part of a shared ambition to reach 300 GW of capacity by 2050.
The announcement comes days after Donald Trump criticised Europe’s climate and energy ambitions and the pace of wind power deployment.
UK energy secretary Ed Miliband dismissed those remarks, describing clean energy as “the right choice”.
“Our view on offshore wind energy is hard-headed, not soft-hearted,” Miliband said. “Offshore wind is for winners. Different countries will pursue their national interests, but we are very clear where our interests lie.”
European energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen said renewable energy is already cheaper than fossil fuels and has a central role to play in lowering power prices for households and businesses. However, he acknowledged that the rollout of new wind farms is progressing too slowly, expressing hope that a European Commission proposal tabled in December to speed up permitting would help unlock faster deployment.
Ireland’s minister for climate and energy Darragh O’Brien highlighted the need for stronger electricity grids and interconnection capacity to maximise the value of renewables within the EU energy mix.
The nine governments reaffirmed their commitment to accelerating offshore wind through new business models and cross-border cooperation, building on the 300 GW by 2050 target agreed by North Sea countries in 2023 in Ostend, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and heightened concerns over Europe’s dependence on Russian gas.
EU ministers said achieving these ambitions could reduce electricity prices by around 30% by 2040 compared with 2025 levels.
The declaration also commits signatories to delivering an offshore financing framework for cross-border wind projects, recognising that the scale of expansion will require significant private capital investment.
“We have sharpened our criteria driven by the European framework but also by German legislation, and we are looking at every foreign direct investment and scrutinising it,” said German economy minister Katherina Reiche. Governments and industry have agreed to use targeted financial instruments, including two-sided contracts for difference and power purchase agreements (PPAs), as well as cross-border PPAs, to protect developers from price volatility and support investment certainty.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz said cooperation in the North Sea was “critical” to Europe’s security and independence, adding that partners were united in their ambition to develop the region into “the largest reservoir of clean energy in the world”.
Despite the renewed political backing, offshore wind deployment remains behind schedule. The EU27 currently has around 236 GW of total wind capacity, the majority of which is onshore. While EU targets call for 60 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 300 GW by 2050, installed offshore capacity stood at 19.38 GW in 2023 and is estimated at around 37 GW in 2025.
More than 6,000 offshore turbines are currently operating across Europe, but progress has been slowed by weak auction design, rising capital costs and supply-chain constraints linked to an uncertain project pipeline, according to industry analysts.
WindEurope interim chief executive Malgosia Bartosik welcomed the renewed political commitment.
“Government cooperation on offshore wind build-out can help crowd in €1 trillion of investment over the next decade,” she said. “This is the strongest possible response to those who doubt Europe, and it reinforces our push for home-grown, secure and affordable energy.”
