Maxime Verhagen is Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs – and so responsible for energy. In the latest Wind Directions, he explains why his government has cut spending on offshore wind energy.
The Minister starts by re-affirming the Dutch government’s commitment to the European renewables targets for 2020. “To meet these targets the government will stimulate the most cost-effective renewable energy mix”, he says.
He also agrees “on the potential of offshore wind for the Dutch economy”, adding that “The Netherlands has numerous companies with an outstanding record in designing, constructing and maintaining offshore wind farms.”
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A European offshore supergrid – with interconnections between European countries and to offshore wind farms in Europe’s seas – is the vision, but there are big and significant barriers to achieving that vision.
‘We don’t have an interconnected European network today, and we don’t have an offshore grid,’ Ana Aguado from Friends of the Super Grid said today at OFFSHORE 2011 in Amsterdam, outlining the problem in a nutshell. ‘There can be no transition [to a renewable electricity sector] without transmission,’ Eddie O’Connor from Mainstream renewable power said referring to the significant need for grid infrastructure.
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As people begin gathering at next week’s OFFSHORE 2011 conference in Amsterdam, it’s a safe bet that some conversations will focus on a just-released book by the International Energy Agency (IEA) which says wind power and other renewables are now the fastest-growing sector of the energy mix.
The book — Deploying Renewables 2011: Best and Future Policy Practice — adds that wind power and other renewables offer great potential to address issues of energy security and sustainability, but their rapid deployment is also bringing a host of challenges.
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The sea may seem like a vast and empty place, but it is a potential conflict zone for the many sea-users. From fisheries to oil and gas, tourism to offshore wind energy, shipping lanes to military zones, sea space has many people vying for its use – and these conflicting interests will be the subject of a stimulating debate chaired by Anne-Bénédicte Genachte, EWEA’s regulatory affairs advisor at OFFSHORE 2011.
“Proper maritime spatial planning brings multiple benefits,” Genachte says, including reducing the time needed for permitting procedures, providing investors with certainty and reducing the costs of offshore projects.
Genachte is looking forward to discussing all the issues surrounding maritime spatial planning at her session alongside expert speakers from the European Commission, SEANERGY 2020 and E.ON among others.
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EU Energy ministers will, for the first time, discuss the European Commission’s draft proposals for a €9.1 billion infrastructure package published in October.
At discussions in Luxembourg today, they will hear a first “exchange of views” on the plan, in which “electricity networks must be upgraded and modernised to meet increasing electricity demand”. The proposal aims not only at the physical infrastructure for energy, but also at the “full integration of the internal energy market”, to “ensure security of supply in the Union, to promote energy efficiency and…the interconnection of energy networks”, a European Council briefing said.
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