UCL Australia Lecturer Publishes Book on Offshore Wind

Dr Katelijn Van Hende from the University College London in Australia has published a book on offshore wind in the European Union. 

In the book titled “Offshore Wind in the European Union. Towards Integrated Management of our Marine Waters” Van Hende talks about the issues behind the planning, permitting and licensing of offshore wind farms and grid interconnections in the European Union marine waters, with a focus on the North and Baltic Seas.

The main aim is to assess whether the current legal framework constitutes an integrated legal framework. The author offers expert guidance on suggested improvements that could move the current framework towards a more fully integrated system.

The book provides insights into activity in the field with descriptions of existing approaches to the management of seas and oceans, with examples of their implementation in the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy, as well as the ocean policies in Australia and New Zealand.

Also included are in-depth discussions of how economic sectoral interests (i.e., oil and gas extraction, maritime transport routes, cables and pipelines, fishing) affect the strategic development of offshore wind policy. The role of regional sea conventions in the North and Baltic Seas are taken into account, as are the exclusive economic zones defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Image: SSE (Illustration)