Germans and Dutch Sign Offshore Wind Sharing Deal

Germany and the Netherlands have signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on the energy transition, which includes cooperation on the development of cross-border offshore wind projects.

Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy signed the agreement on 2 October in Berlin.

Germany and the Netherlands said they see great potential in the development of offshore wind projects and infrastructure in the North Seas region to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy.

Within the context of the North Seas Energy Cooperation, several exemplary cross-border projects have been identified where a more detailed assessment and greater cooperation could be beneficial, the parties said.

The two countries will continue looking at these projects and intend to jointly assess how they, and other projects, could contribute to further market integration and future sector coupling.

Under the agreement, Germany and the Netherlands will also support the European Commission in assessing the need to update the EU regulatory framework in order to eliminate investment barriers and to facilitate the development of interconnected cross-border offshore wind generation projects.

Other areas identified in the declaration include the role and feasibility of hydrogen, carbon pricing, industry decarbonization R&D, as well as carbon capture utilization and storage.

The Ministries said they will meet on a regular basis to work on the priorities set out in the declaration and to share information on general developments in their energy policies.

“The German and Dutch energy markets and infrastructure are strongly integrated. Whilst respecting country-specific challenges, both Participants acknowledge that national energy policy decisions need to take due account of effects on neighboring countries. In this regard, the Participants acknowledge the importance of closer regional cooperation on issues with high cross-border relevance within the framework of the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs),” the declaration writes.