The agreement, involving numerous European countries including Germany, Norway, France and Denmark, was promoted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and will drive forward a fleet of joint offshore wind projects located in the North Sea. This will reaffirm the commitment by the UK and Europe to develop clean, secure energy as the only way in which to move away from fossil fuels.
The summit, attended by representatives from the European Commission, NATO and Iceland, comes after the UK delivered a record-breaking offshore wind auction, unlocking 7,000 jobs and driving £22 billion of private sector investment into the UK’s factories and ports.
Three years ago, North Sea countries pledged to build 300 GW of offshore wind in the North Sea by 2050, in response to Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and weaponisation of Europe’s energy supplies.
The new agreement, will see North Sea countries delivering 100 GW of offshore wind power through joint clean energy projects, including new ‘offshore wind hybrid assets’ — wind farms at sea that are directly connected to more than one country through interconnectors. The joint commitment is set out in the ‘Hamburg Declaration’, agreed last week (Monday 26th January), at the Future of the North Seas Summit.
Mr Miliband met European leaders to push forward plans to transform the North Sea into the world’s largest ‘clean energy reservoir’. The major summit brings together European leaders in Germany, France, Belgium, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark and Norway.
“We are standing up for our national interest by driving for clean energy, which can get the UK off the fossil fuel rollercoaster and give us energy sovereignty and abundance” said Mr Miliband. “After our record renewables auction, we went further by signing a clean energy security pact with European allies to ensure we maximise the clean energy potential for the North Sea.”
The clean energy industry is expected to respond to the pledge by unveiling ambitious plans for new projects. Interconnectors are crucial to Europe’s energy security, enabling countries in the North Sea to send clean power to where it’s needed most and end Europe’s reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets controlled by petrostates and dictators.
The UK is leading the way on the pledge. Earlier this month the delivery of its record-breaking auction secured 8.4 GW of offshore wind – the biggest ever auction in European history. This includes projects in the North Sea, setting a powerful example to European partners.
Further key outcomes expected from the summit include:
Interconnected offshore grid – the Energy Secretary signing a statement of intent with Germany, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands to unlock cross-border offshore electricity projects, focusing on joint planning, cost-sharing and market arrangements to speed up delivery.
Offshore Hybrid Assets – The UK agreeing a framework to deepen German and UK collaboration on offshore hybrid assets. These are advanced subsea energy infrastructure that combine offshore wind farm connections with electricity interconnectors. This would put UK firms at forefront of grid technology, unlocking export opportunities and boosting growth.
Security is also a prime focus of the agreement, including the integration of marine energy infrastructure into maritime and aerial surveillance, increased cooperation between energy and defence ministries to protect against physical and cyber threats and strengthening the resilience of the European energy supply to move further away from dependence on Russian gas.
“The UK’s energy sector is fully behind the landmark efforts to be announced at the Hamburg North Sea Summit to transform the North Sea into a truly regional clean power hub” added Dhara Vyas, Chief Executive of Energy UK. “Delivering the goal of 100 GW of offshore cooperation projects by 2050 will require a relentless focus on maintaining the momentum of UK-EU alignment on electricity market coupling and ETS linkage. This deeper cooperation on supply chains, standardisation, and shared infrastructure is not just a strategic necessity, it is the most effective way to bring down energy costs for households and businesses while fuelling sustainable economic growth and high-value jobs for years to come.
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