From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
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At a ceremony in Brussels last night (Sunday), hosted by Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan, the members of the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) and the United Kingdom agreed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on increased cooperation for the development of offshore renewable energy.
Getting this agreement over the line has been a key priority for Minister Ryan, during Ireland’s Co-Presidency of the NSEC in 2022. It means that there will now be increased cooperation between the UK and the eight current member states of the NSEC and the European Commission, bolstering energy security into the future for Ireland, Europe and the UK. The agreement was signed for the UK by Graham Stuart MP, Minister of State for Energy and Climate.
At an NSEC Ministerial meeting in Dublin last September the eight NSEC countries agreed to a target of at least 260GW of offshore wind energy by 2050, which will represent more than 85% of the EU-wide ambition of reaching at least 300GW by 2050.
This new MoU recognises the important role for offshore renewables in reaching climate and clean energy targets and the need to cooperate on accelerating their future deployment. The cooperation agreement aims to facilitate the planning and development of specific offshore renewable projects, including offshore grids.
Welcoming the agreement, Minister Ryan said:
"I welcome today’s milestone agreement, which I and our Irish team have been determined to achieve under the Irish Co-Presidency of the NSEC, and which builds upon the momentum of the landmark meeting and agreement we reached in Dublin. When it comes to realising the potential of off-shore wind, it is best that we work in unity, that we transcend borders, that we set agreed targets, and then cooperate to achieve them.
"Working as a united Europe, we can ensure that we always have energy somewhere. That can be from the enormous potential of our North Atlantic and North Seas when it’s windy, from the South when it is sunny or from the hydro-capacity of the Alps in the centre of the continent. Through this cooperation, and by sharing and ensuring that we are always producing energy somewhere, we can look forward with some certainty to reducing our reliance on imported and expensive fossil fuels, and to delivering secure and affordable homegrown energy for European households and businesses."
Signatories of the MoU were: Minister Eamon Ryan (Ireland); Commissioner Kadri Simson (European Commission); Minister Graham Stuart (United Kingdom); Minister Tinne Van der Straeten (Belgium); Minister Lars Aagaard (Denmark); Director General Laurent Michel (France); State Secretary Sven Giegold (Germany); Minister Claude Turmes (Luxembourg); Minister Rob Jetten (Netherlands); and Minister Ebbe Busch (Sweden).
ENDS
The North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) is a regional non-binding and voluntary EU cooperation framework which aims to advance development of offshore renewable energy in the geographical area of the North Seas, including the Irish and Celtic Seas. The NSEC is based on a political declaration adopted in 2016, with membership comprised of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the European Commission.
The 2016 political declaration that established the group emphasises the importance of voluntary cooperation, with the aim of securing a sustainable secure and affordable energy supply for the North Seas countries. An updated political declaration was signed in December 2021 to reflect the increased climate ambition contained in the European Green Deal.
The Co-Presidency of the NSEC is held by the European Commission on a permanent basis and one NSEC member state for a rotating 12-month period. Ireland holds this Co-Presidency role for 2022, and will be succeeded by the Netherlands in 2023.
In this role Ireland has sought to promote the following: