At an Offshore Wind Conference, hosted by the Polish Wind Energy Association (PSEW), high-level representatives of eight Baltic Sea countries and the European Commission signed a joint declaration to accelerate the build-out of new offshore wind capacities in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea could host 93 GW by 2050, up from today’s 2.2 GW.
Among the signatories of the Baltic Sea Offshore Wind Declaration are Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. They want to foster mutual collaboration in the context of the Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan (BEMIP).
This collaboration will include questions of hybrid offshore wind projects, smart grids, energy system integration and digitalisation. According to the Declaration, the countries will also develop coordinated approaches to maritime planning, taking into account other uses of the sea space and environmental protection.
The BEMIP High-level Group is now tasked to operationalise the Baltic Sea Offshore Wind Declaration. The group will draft a work programme for offshore wind development in the Baltic Sea that takes national policies set out in the National Energy and Climate Plans as well as EU policy developments into account. The presentation of this programme is planned for the first half of 2021.
