WindEurope signed the Baltic Sea Declaration on offshore wind in Tallinn, Estonia, on 28 September.
The document has been co-signed by wind energy associations from Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden.
WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson and Martin Kruus, Chairman of the Board of the Estonian Wind Power Association, handed over the declaration to the Permanent Deputy Secretary General for Energy of the Government of Estonia, Ando Leppiman. They urged the Estonian government, which currently holds the EU Presidency, to build the political momentum that will assist in replicating what has been done for the North Sea.
The declaration asks governments to enhance their regional cooperation in terms of supporting offshore wind deployment in the region.
The document covers numerous aspects of regional cooperation in the Baltics, with the ultimate being to use the renewable energy potential of the Baltic Sea in order to support the EU’s goals of decarbonisation, cost-effectiveness and security of energy supply.
The first step for achieving these objectives is that governments draft clear national energy climate plans which spell out the volumes of offshore wind they want to deploy post-2020.
On 11 October, WindEurope will start with the Baltic Sea Task Force as a part of its Offshore Working Group, which will help towards achieving the declaration goals.
According to WindEurope’s recent analysis of wind energy scenarios for 2030 , the Baltic Sea, which currently has 1.5GW of offshore wind, has the potential of becoming the second largest basin for offshore wind with potential 9GW installed by 2030.