EU Agrees to Install Up To 89 GW of Offshore RE Generation Capacity by 2030

European Union member states have reached initial agreements on targets for offshore renewable generation capacity up to 2050, starting with an overall goal of 86–89 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.

The non-binding agreements define levels of ambition for five grid divisions representing the EU’s five sea basins: Atlantic offshore grids, Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan offshore grids, Northern Seas offshore grids, South and East offshore grids, and South and West offshore grids.

The goal by the end of the decade means the 27-member bloc needs to more than quadruple its current installed capacity of 20 GW, according to a statement by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy (DG ENER).

By 2040, installed offshore renewable generation capacity in the EU sea basins is targeted to reach 259–261 GW. By 2050, capacity should be 356–366 GW, according to the preliminary agreements.

“These objectives are based on the national energy and climate plans, the offshore renewable potential of each sea basin, environmental protection, climate adaptation and other uses of the sea, as well as the EU’s decarbonization targets”, DG ENER said in the online statement.

“In some cases, the national goals are expressed as ranges, partially reflecting ongoing national discussions and/or a degree of uncertainty associated with the level of future development of offshore renewable energy, especially within the 2040/2050 timeframes”, DG ENER explained. The agreements have yet to be published.

To account for the goals, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for electricity (ENTSO-E) will update Offshore Network Development Plans (ONDPs), part of the regional 10-Year Network Development Plan, after consultations with operators, national regulators and authorities, and the Commission next year, according to the statement.

The new goals are part of the revised regulation on trans-European energy networks (TEN-E), which also includes non-binding cross-border cost-sharing studies on the deployment of the ONDPs to be presented by ENTSO-E. The revised TEN-E also provides for unique points of contact for offshore grid projects.

“The new provisions aim at facilitating hybrid offshore projects particularly, a new type of project combining offshore generation and transmission capacity of several EU countries”, DG ENER said.

Last year offshore wind power production in the EU grew 10 percent to 52 terawatt hours (tWh), while onshore wind generation rose to 401 tWh, according to the Commission’s quarterly electricity market report published June 6, 2024.

Renewable energy sources accounted for 44 percent of overall electricity production in the EU in 2023, increasing from 38 percent in 2022 and overtaking fossil fuels for the first time, the report showed.

Fossil fuels produced 31 percent of EU power last year, down from 39 percent in 2022. Nuclear energy accounted for 25 percent of last year’s generation, according to the report.

“The fall in fossil fuel generation was supported by lower demand and sustained renewables generation”, DG ENER said in a statement at the time.

The EU Renewable Energy Directive adopted last year has set a goal for the share of renewables in the overall regional energy mix to be 45 percent by 2030, of which 42.5 percent is binding and 2.5 percent aspirational.

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