Parliamentarians call for a stronger cooperation in the North Seas Countries Offshore Grid Initiative

Members of European, national and regional parliaments signed a Joint Declaration on the North Seas Countries Offshore Grid Initiative (NSCOGI) expressing the need for a stronger cooperation among the 10 NSCOGI countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom). 

The North Seas Countries Offshore Grid Initiative (NSCOGI) was established by a Memorandum of Understanding on 3 December 2010 in order to form a regional platform for facilitating coordinated development of a possible offshore grid. The initiative was set up by the 10 North Seas Countries governments (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom) and supported by regulatory agencies and transmission system operators as well as the European Commission. The NSCOGI countries worked together with regulators and TSOs on regulatory, technical and legal barriers and produced a grid study.

However, more is needed. As the parliamentarians point out in their Joint Declaration, the cooperation needs to be strengthened and to bring about lighthouse projects to set a role model for an integrated RES technology deployment and market development. "NSCOGI needs to be taken more seriously and this has to be reflected in the funding opportunties and market integration plans for offshore wind," mentioned Jan Geiss, Secretary General of the European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources (EUFORES).  

The declaration was initiated at the EUFORES Inter-Parliamentary Meeting on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Dublin on 21 June 2013. Its objective is to support the milestones of NSCOGI, bring more attention to this initiative and accelerate offshore grid development. The Joint Declaration asks for a strengthened parliamentary interaction and an enhanced cooperation of the NSCOGI countries´governments and parliaments together with EU institutions and specialised bodies. Parliamentarians also request intensified work on technical, legal, political and economic aspects of market integration which would lead to a new understanding of the power markets. More thorough integration of NSCOGI into EU funds, programmes and mechanisms (i.e. Connecting Europe Facility, Marguerite Fund, project bonds finance, cooperation mechanisms, structural funds, Horizon2020) is expected. Members of Parliament hope for a strong leadership of the European Commission and urge the EU to fully recognize the potential of offshore wind and reflect this in the 2030 policy framework. An ambitious 2030 framework providing the EU Member States and industry with a clear signal is essential.

Background information
EUFORES, established in 1995, is the cross-party parliamentary network with members from the European parliament and the EU-28 national Parliaments, aiming at promoting renewable energy sources and energy efficiency in Europe. EUFORES has developed an intense institutional network at the EU and national levels, and has become one of the driving forces in the renewable energy sector. The North Seas Countries Offshore Grid Initiative (NSCOGI) Parliamentary Platform of EUFORES was set up during the EUFORES Inter-Parliamentary Meeting in Dublin on 21 June 2013. For more information please visit www.eufores.org

Download the Joint Parliamenary Declaration