Policymakers from four North Sea countries took prompt action in the spring of 2022 when they met in Esbjerg – Denmark’s leading offshore wind hub and gateway to the North Sea. Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, they recognised the urgent need to reduce Europe’s dependence on oil, coal and gas from Russia. At the same time, energy security and climate action became equally rucial drivers of the EU’s green energy transition.

The four nations committed to developing the North Sea as Europe’s green energy hub and to establishing an offshore renewable energy system connecting the countries. The target for offshore wind was set to at least 65 GW by 2030 and at least 150 GW by 2050. Momentum grew quickly, and the Ostend declaration followed only a year later, with nine countries joining forces to scale up offshore wind, advance cross-border projects, and strengthen Europe’s offshore wind industry. As a result, the combined target increased to 120 GW by 2030 and 300 GW by 2050.

Meanwhile, the Marienborg declaration, signed at the Danish Prime Minister’s official residence, brought together Baltic Sea nations, acknowledging the region’s substantial but largely untapped potential for offshore wind expansion. The agreement set a target of 20 GW by 2030 and up to 93 GW by 2050.

North Seas Energy Cooperation as a shared framework

To accelerate offshore wind development, participating countries have enhanced their cooperation in the North Sea under the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC), which has been under Danish co-presidency in 2024. A formal work programme focuses on five key areas:

• Hybrid and joint projects: Tackling barriers to developing hybrid and joint offshore wind projects, which will be an integrated part of a meshed North Sea grid.
• Maritime spatial planning and biodiversity: Balancing offshore wind expansion with other maritime activities while protecting biodiversity. A coordinated approach to spatial planning and environmental assessments will support the sustainable deployment of offshore wind  and grid infrastructure.
• Support frameworks and finance: Sharing information on national tender schedules to provide better visibility for the supply chain and exchanging best practices on tender design and support design elements to foster system and sector integration.
• Coordinated long-term planning: Aligning long-term onshore and offshore infrastructure planning and supporting energy sector integration.
• Offshore green hydrogen: Strengthening collaboration on offshore green hydrogen to enhance energy system flexibility. This includes developing common benchmarks for national green hydrogen targets and harmonising technical and market requirements across borders.

Green hydrogen will unlock offshore wind potential

It is recognised that there is a growing potential for renewable hydrogen in the energy system on the path to net zero. By providing system flexibility and enabling decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries, green hydrogen will also reinforce the business case for offshore wind in the North Sea. Sharing best practices from the North Sea collaborations will be essential for accelerating offshore wind deployment across other regions and sea basins.