Offshore renewables: wind energy package in October

Focus|30 September 2023

Over the past 15 years, the EU has allocated nearly 17 billion in aid to the blue energy sector. Figures that give an idea of the enormous potential of offshore renewables, but a sector that requires clear and certain rules in the long term, faster authorizations and more European cooperation. Issues that the Commission is preparing to address with an ad hoc package of measures, the European Wind Power Package, to be presented at the end of October.

According to a report published on September 18 by the European Court of Auditors, blue energy is expected to make an important contribution to the EU's environmental protection goals but is producing mixed results.

Brussels set ambitious targets for offshore wind development in 2020 when the European Commission published its strategy for the sector: to reach 60 GW of installed capacity by 2030 and to exceed 300 GW by 2050.

Targets that are accompanied by huge investments: according to the ECA's calculations, 2.3 billion has been disbursed from the EU budget for these technologies since 2007, to which must be added the resources allocated by the European Investment Bank (EIB), which has provided loans and made equity investments of 14.4 billion euros.

But, ECA auditors warn, there are lights and shadows around offshore renewable technologies.

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