The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Belgium have signed a deal to massively increase the number of North Sea wind farms and build a joint network to bring the electricity onshore.

The deal, signed in Esbjerg in Denmark on Wednesday, envisages expanding capacity to 65 gigawatts in 2030 and 150 gigawatts by 2050. Some of the electricity from the offshore wind farms will be used to produce hydrogen, which is seen as the way to offset the use of fossil fuels in industry.

Total output represents more than half of the capacity target for the entire 27-nations block in the EU offshore renewable energy strategy, which was unveiled in November 2020.

‘We will increasingly replace fossil fuels, including Russian oil, coal and gas, with
European renewable energy from the North Sea, including offshore wind and green hydrogen, contributing to both EU climate neutrality and energy security,’ the joint declaration said.

The Netherlands recently doubled its own offshore wind farm ambitions, with a target of 21 gigawatts by 2030, and this was restated in Wednesday’s agreement.