Governments from all over the world discuss the business case of offshore wind

During the world’s biggest offshore conference taking place in Copenhagen, Wind Europe, government officials from all over the world met to discuss the role of offshore wind in reaching the ambitious targets of the Paris Agreement.

Yesterday, the Danish Energy Agency hosted the Intergovernmental Forum during the world’s biggest conference on offshore wind – Wind Europe – held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Government officials from all over the world participated in the Intergovernmental Forum to discuss the business case of offshore wind, the ability to mobilize international finance, and to further improve the investment climate.

At the Forum, governmental officials exchanged policies and experience on best practices and how to reduce risk for the development of offshore wind. When the risks are reduced, so is the cost of energy.

“Innovation of framework conditions are extremely important to reduce risk and lower the cost from the offshore wind technology. The framework conditions are key to the attractiveness and bankability of offshore wind projects”, says Kristoffer Böttzauw, Director General at the Danish Energy Agency.

Government alignment is good business

Globally, the market for offshore wind has grown by almost 30 percent per year since 2010, according to the latest numbers from the International Energy Agency. The rapid growth is primarily lifted by the climate change agenda. However, to keep the sector moving forward, governments must focus on securing a good business case for the offshore developers.

“It is of great interest for the offshore wind industry that countries are aligned in their approach to approving projects. When governments develop similar framework conditions it optimizes the process for the project developers, and hence increases the competitiveness”, Kristoffer Böttzauw continues.

The framework conditions of the North Sea countries have already become increasingly similar to the benefit of the industry. E.g. most of the mature markets for offshore wind use marine spatial planning and have streamlined procedures for approving the projects; and tenders have also become the most commonly used method for awarding the projects.

Denmark is among the leaders in the offshore wind power sector globally. The first offshore wind park was built in Denmark in 1991, and today offshore wind farms are one of the most cost effective and reliable energy sources. They play a crucial role in the global green energy transition to meet the Paris agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Background

• The Intergovernmental Forum is a recurring forum for government officials working with framework conditions for the offshore wind technology.
• The Intergovernmental Forum combines high-level presentations, technical workshops and panel debates on policy and regulatory frameworks. Inspiration and lessons learned are shared.
• The experience that Denmark has acquired greening its energy system today serves as inspiration to countries around the world. Denmark has energy cooperation partnerships with 15 countries.
• Denmark works together with South Korea, China, India, Turkey and the United States to strengthen framework conditions for offshore wind.

Contact: 

Mette Cramer Buch, chief advisor, mcbh@ens.dk, +45 51 67 43 29