The UK, Denmark and eight other European countries have reached an agreement to deliver 100 gigawatts of offshore wind in the North Sea, the British government said.
The agreement is expected to be signed at an offshore wind summit in the German city of Hamburg on Monday by ministers from the UK, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway. The countries will build offshore wind farms that will be directly connected to several nations via undersea cables. Offshore wind can generate enough electricity to power 143 million homes.
According to British Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, green energy is a way out of what he calls a fossil fuel roller coaster.
The European agreement on offshore wind comes less than a week after US President Donald Trump criticised Britain's plans to phase out oil and gas production in the North Sea and complained about European wind power. He also railed against wind power at last week's economic summit in the Swiss city of Davos:
- There are wind turbines everywhere in Europe. There are wind turbines everywhere, and they are losers. One thing I've noticed is that the more wind turbines a country has, the more money the country loses and the worse off the country is, Trump said at the World Economic Forum.
The new agreement confirms Europe's goal of investing in wind power. Nine countries - including Denmark - agreed three years ago to double the amount of electricity from offshore wind in the North Sea and build capacity to 300 gigawatts by 2050. The agreement, expected to be signed in Hamburg on Monday, will contribute to this goal.
The British energy minister is also expected to sign a letter of intent with Germany, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands on Monday to open up offshore electricity projects across borders, with a focus on joint planning and cost sharing. Last year, wind and solar energy overtook fossil fuels in EU electricity production.
/ritzau/Reuters
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