Europe of ambition to turn the North Sea into the world of largest wind farm

The leaders of nine European countries meeting at the North Sea summit held on April 24 in the Belgian city of Ostend said that European countries have agreed to implement an ambitious project to transform the North Sea. become the world's leading large wind farm, capable of supplying electricity to 300 million households in Europe by the middle of this century.

Leaders of 7 European Union countries including Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Denmark, Luxemburg, the Republic of Ireland, and 2 other European countries located around the North Sea, the United Kingdom, and Norway, met on April 24. at the North Sea Summit held in the Belgian coastal city of Ostend, with the focus of discussion on increasing the capacity to produce green energy from the resources of the North Sea. This is the second time the North Sea Summit has been held, after the first in 2022, when there were only four participating countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark.

Speaking at the summit, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo affirmed that energy security is becoming a vital issue for the future of Europe after the outbreak of conflict in Ukraine caused The energy architecture that relies heavily on Russian gas supplies to be destroyed. In addition to senior European leaders, hundreds of major European energy enterprises also attended.

At the end of the summit, an ambitious plan was approved, under which European countries along the North Coast agreed to standardize technical standards, thereby speeding up the construction of wind farms at sea. North, towards the goal that by 2030, it will produce 120 GW of wind power in the North Sea, which is nearly 5 times the current capacity. By 2050, the total output of wind power in the North Sea will be up to 300 GW/year, enough to supply electricity for 300 million households in Europe.

Praising Europe's ambitious plan, French President Emmanuel Macron also warned Europe to avoid making mistakes in the past with the solar panel industry and to give every priority. priority for European businesses, ensuring that green energy infrastructure in Europe must be produced by Europe.

Meanwhile, in addition to affirming that all European resources will be used to support the bloc's green industrial strategies, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also said security issues for economic infrastructure in the North Sea will be a factor that cannot be taken lightly, in the context of widespread geopolitical tensions in Europe.

“We are monitoring the current situation very closely because we know that critical European infrastructures are at stake, following what happened with the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage in last year. That is why we have raised the level of preparedness, response, and cooperation among member countries to the level of the whole European Union," said Ursula von der Leyen.