North Sea Summit ‘Investment Pact’ to mobilise €1tn in offshore wind investments for Europe

Seven Heads of State and Government and the Energy Ministers of the 9 North Seas countries gathered in Hamburg today to boost the expansion of offshore wind. Together with industry and transmission system operators they signed the “Investment Pact for the North Seas”. Governments commit to building 15 GW of offshore wind per year over 2031-2040 and de-risking offshore wind investments. The industry, in return, pledges cost reductions, 91,000 additional jobs and generating €1tn of economic activity. With the Investment Pact, Europe is charting the massive offshore wind buildout it needs to deliver on its energy security and competitiveness objectives.

At today’s North Sea Summit in Hamburg Heads of State and Government and Energy Ministers of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK today pledged to chart a massive offshore wind buildout for Europe. They confirmed their ambition to build 300 GW of offshore wind in the North Seas by 2050.

Governments, the wind industry and transmission system operators (TSOs) signed the “Offshore Wind Investment Pact for the North Seas”. The Pact is underpinned by a Heads of State Declaration (to be signed later today), an Energy Minister Declaration and an Industry Declaration signed by more than 100 offshore wind companies across the value chain.

Offshore wind has been a European success story with 37 GW installed across 13 countries. That’s more than 6,000 turbines providing homegrown, clean and competitive electricity at scale. But deployment has been dragged by sub-optimal auction design, increased costs of capital and lack of visibility for the supply chain due to an uncertain project pipeline.

Today’s Investment Pact addresses the challenges head-on. Here’s what the parties committed to:

Governments:

In the Investment Pact Governments pledge to provide planning and investment security and de-risk offshore wind projects. This includes a commitment to provide two-sided Contracts for Difference (CfDs) as the standard for offshore wind auction design. Two-sided Contracts for Difference (CfDs) unlock investments and reduce financing costs by giving visibility on revenue. The pact also commits Governments to remove any regulatory obstacles to Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) – direct agreements between electricity producers and corporate end-consumers.

Crucially, Governments commit to a coordinated and steady buildout of offshore wind across the North Seas. They will contribute towards Europe collectively deploying 15 GW of offshore wind annually over 2031-2040. This steady pipeline of offshore wind projects will bring the needed confidence to invest in new capacity for manufacturing, ports infrastructure and vessels.

Europe’s wind industry:

In return Europe’s offshore wind industry pledges to drive down costs of offshore wind by 30% towards 2040 compared to 2025 levels. This cost reduction will be driven by scale effects, lower costs of capital and further industrialisation underpinned by clarity and visibility on the project pipeline.

The industry will create lasting value for the economy, communities and consumers. The industry commits to mobilising €1tn of economic activity for Europe, creating 91,000 additional jobs and investing €9.5bn in the value chain, including manufacturing, port infrastructure and vessels.

Transmission system operators:

Alongside traditional offshore wind farms connected to one country, the TSOs will identify cost-effective cooperation projects in the North Seas. They aim to identify 20 GW of economically promising cross-border projects by 2027 for deployment in the 2030s. This includes hybrid offshore projects combining electricity production and interconnection, as well as projects in one country connected to another country. The TSOs will also develop cost-sharing principles for these cooperation projects.

Europe doubles down on offshore wind 

“Today Europe doubles down on offshore wind. Government cooperation on offshore wind buildout can help crowd in €1trillion of investments in the next decade. This is the best possible response to those who doubt Europe. And our drive to deliver energy that is homegrown, secure and affordable”, says WindEurope CEO Malgosia Bartosik.