Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Denis Naughten, has signed an energy cooperation declaration focusing on the development of cost-effective offshore wind and wave energy.
Naughten signed the declaration on Monday 6 June, along with nine other EU countries – Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK.
This voluntary declaration is supported by the European Commission, and has a particular focus on renewables and smart grid development. The initiative builds on the North Seas Countries’ Offshore Grid Initiative (NSCOGI) that Ireland has been successfully involved in in the past.
Commenting on the co-operation declaration, Denis Naughten said: “Ireland has the best offshore energy potential in Europe but we need to work with our colleagues across the EU to turn this potential into electricity.
“While we are at the leading edge of ocean energy research, we can always benefit from closer co-operation with our EU neighbours, not just in ensuring that we use the most cost-effective solutions to produce offshore energy but also to get this green electricity on to the European electricity grid”.
Aims of the cooperation
The key objective of the North Seas energy co-operation is to reduce the costs of renewable energy and grid development and remove barriers to investment, which contributes to achieving Ireland’s climate goals and the EU-wide target of 27% renewable energy by 2030.
Moreover, it strengthens our security of supply of renewable energy in offshore areas.
The long-term goal of the co-operation is to attract private investments in the development of the North Seas as a sustainable and regionally optimised energy system.
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Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Denis Naughten, has signed an energy cooperation declaration focusing on the development of cost-effective offshore wind and wave energy.
Naughten signed the declaration on Monday 6 June, along with nine other EU countries – Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK.
This voluntary declaration is supported by the European Commission, and has a particular focus on renewables and smart grid development. The initiative builds on the North Seas Countries’ Offshore Grid Initiative (NSCOGI) that Ireland has been successfully involved in in the past.
Commenting on the co-operation declaration, Denis Naughten said: “Ireland has the best offshore energy potential in Europe but we need to work with our colleagues across the EU to turn this potential into electricity.
“While we are at the leading edge of ocean energy research, we can always benefit from closer co-operation with our EU neighbours, not just in ensuring that we use the most cost-effective solutions to produce offshore energy but also to get this green electricity on to the European electricity grid”.
Aims of the cooperation
The key objective of the North Seas energy co-operation is to reduce the costs of renewable energy and grid development and remove barriers to investment, which contributes to achieving Ireland’s climate goals and the EU-wide target of 27% renewable energy by 2030.
Moreover, it strengthens our security of supply of renewable energy in offshore areas.
The long-term goal of the co-operation is to attract private investments in the development of the North Seas as a sustainable and regionally optimised energy system.
Related stories
Renewable energy: learning from the debacle of the wind farms
Watch: 30-acre solar farm opens in Antrim
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