Video: Europe aims to multiply the offshore wind power capacity by 30 times

The European Green Deal aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.  Considering that 75% of greenhouse gasses in Europe come from fossil fuels, expanding new sources of “green, blue” power is needed. That’s the aim of the European Offshore Renewable Strategy.

There is a clear urgency and a huge window of opportunities for the blue economy and, most specifically, for the development and exploitation ofclean ocean energy technologies. The European Offshore Renewable Strategy aims to multiply by 30 times the capacity of offshore wind power and reach 40 GW of ocean energy mainly from the tides and waves by mid-century.

Watch the video to learn what the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund does to support the new European Offshore Renewable Strategy:

Considering that about 40% of the world’s population live along coastlines, the EMFF support plays a crucial role in transforming Europe’s coastal regions into drivers of sustainable economic growth: creating new opportunities for industry, generating blue jobs, and strengthening EU's global leadership in clean offshore energy technologies.  At the same time, it boosts the  European blue economy which makes a crucial contribution to the European Green Deal objectives.

In particular, EMFF supported 7 innovative projects and 2 specific initiatives, which cover different areas of the development of the cleanoffshore energy sector, such as: 

• Elaboration of a road map to guide decision makers and companies to steer growth in ocean energy; the reduction of costs and increase in the competitiveness of the sector; 
• Support of  new emerging technologies for wave and tidal power; 
• Development of platforms that go further offshore; carrying out studies on impacts on the environment;
• Mitigation possible marine spatial conflicts.

Featured projects

DOCC-OFF: Scaling-up digitalization of critical components in offshore wind turbines.
LEAPWIND: Leading Edge Advanced Protection using novel thermoplastic materials and processes for offshore Wind turbine blades.
WaveFarm: WaveRoller Wave Farm Scale-Up - Prepares to deploy the world’s first commercial wave energy farm.
FreShER: Floating Solar Energy mooRing: Innovative mooring solutions for floating solar energy.
WESE: Wave Energy in Southern Europe.
SEAWAVE: Strategic Environmental Assessment of Wave energy technologies.
Safe Wave: Streamlining the Assessment of environmental effects of  Wave Energy.

See also: Sustainable Blue Economy: A systemic approach to tackle Marine litter.