Twenty Members of European Parliament (MEPs) came together to present ‘Northern Seas as the Power House of North-Western Europe’ Manifesto calling for the larger deployment of marine renewables and offshore wind in the Northern Seas.
The manifesto aims to develop the potential of renewable energy located in the North Sea, surrounding Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK.
It proposes an action plan to bring into reality the European Parliament’s call for ‘strong political support and endorsement of the North Sea Offshore Grid as a key step in building an effective Energy Union’, adopted on December 15, 2015.
MEPs have called decision-makers from the region, together with industry, social partners, and the EU Commission, to create a new high level political process in order to make Northern Seas regional cooperation a showcase for the Energy Union.
“We believe that the progressive, large-scale, deployment of off-shore wind farms and emerging marine renewables, along with the completion of a meshed electricity grid, should be the backbone of Northern Seas regional cooperation. The development of stronger regional cooperation in the Northern Seas will help create local jobs and growth, reduce costs and ensure energy security, as well as EU technology leadership in off-shore wind and other emerging marine renewables,” MEPs’ Manifesto reads.
Amongst other suggestions, MEPs are proposing the creation of 20-year grid development plan for Northern Seas, which should fully take into account the role of emerging marine renewable technologies.
Also, MEPs are calling for the reduction of red tapes for Member States by prioritizing common standards on health and safety, based and building on best-available practice from already existing Northern Sea oil and gas infrastructure.