Offshore Wind Worldwide Regulatory Framework in Selected Countries 5th Edition 2024 - Flipbook - Page 330
United Kingdom
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•
setting a target to support up to double
the capacity of renewable energy and
providing enough clean, low-cost energy
to power up to 10 million homes.
These commitments were then revised and
updated in a new policy document called
the ‘British Energy Security Strategy’, which
was developed in order to help accelerate the
UK’s development as a low-carbon, energy
independent future.6 The revised commitments included in the policy included:
•
an increased target of 45GW of offshore
wind energy by 2030;
•
an increased target of 5GW of floating
offshore wind energy by 2030;
•
a low-cost, net zero consistent electricity
system, most likely to be composed predominantly of wind and solar generation
by 2050;
•
halving planning and regulation time for
new offshore wind projects; and
•
consulting on developing partnerships
for a number of onshore wind projects
for supportive communities, with associated benefits for local population.
These updated policy commitments and
targets have been important in allowing the
UK market to continue to grow, with increased levels of ambition and a greater number
of significant development opportunities
being pursued.
(b) UK and the North Seas Energy
Cooperation (NSEC)
In December 2022, the UK signed an agreement on renewable energy cooperation
with EU and North Seas countries.7 The
agreement set out a framework for greater
cooperation between the UK and North
Seas neighbours in relation to the development of offshore renewable energy and grid
infrastructure essential for meeting UK net
zero commitments and improving European
energy security.
The Memorandum of Understanding with
the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC)
forum fulfils commitments in the UK-EU
Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA),
enabling the UK to work with NSEC members to develop renewables projects in the
North Seas - specifically projects linking
electricity interconnectors and windfarms.
The countries involved included Belgium,
Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and
the European Commission.
The Memorandum of Understanding set
out the terms for future cooperation between the UK and NSEC and enabled closer
cooperation in the development of offshore
renewable energy, including offshore grids
in the North Seas. The initiative is expected to support the UK’s targets to increase
6 https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2022-0128/#:~:text=What%20policies%20are%20in%20the,further%20utilise%20
North%20Sea%20reserves.
7 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-signs-agreement-on-offshore-renewable-energy-cooperation#:~:text=The%20initiative%20is%20expected%20to,8.4%20GW%20today%20%2D%20by%202030.
