COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Delivering on the EU offshore renewable energy ambitions
Date: 2023-10-24
Institutions: Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission
Subjects: EU energy policy, EU strategy, carbon neutrality, energy cooperation, energy technology, marine energy, offshore wind energy production, regional cooperation, renewable energy, supply chain

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 24.10.2023  COM(2023) 668 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Delivering on the EU offshore renewable energy ambitions  
 
 
1. 

INTRODUCTION  

Offshore  renewables  will  make  a  key  contribution  to  reach  the  EU’s  ambitious  energy 
and climate targets for 2030 and 2050 and reduce dependency on imported fossil fuels. 
Offshore renewables are set to become an indispensable part of the energy mix that will 
be  necessary  to  decarbonise  and  reach  climate  neutrality.  This  is  reflected  in  Member 
States’  ambition  to  achieve  111  GW  of  offshore  renewables  by  2030  which  is  nearly 
twice  as  high  as  the  ambition  set  out  by  the  European  Commission  in  the  Offshore 
Renewable Energy Strategy published in November 20201. 

The  Commission  welcomes  this  higher  ambition,  also  in  the  context  of  REPowerEU, 
which  requires  a  faster  shift  towards  renewable  energy.  These  higher  ambitions  in  the 
offshore renewable sector will have to be turned into real projects at an accelerated pace, 
also for the EU to maintain global leadership and competitiveness at manufacturing and 
deployment  stage,  an  endeavour  that  has  become  more  challenging.  Costs    have 
increased,  profit  margins  are  squeezed,  and  global  supply  chains  are  more  and  more 
fragmented, including through constrained access to materials and skilled labour.  This is 
why  an  Action  Plan  for  wind  manufacturers2  makes  up  an  integral  part  of  the  wind 
package. 

Building  on  the  important  progress  made  on  the  actions  in  the  strategy,  these  new 
challenges must be tackled. Achievements in the implementation of the strategy cover a 
variety  of  topics  and  sectors  covering  maritime  spatial  planning,  interaction  with  the 
marine  environment,  offshore  infrastructure,  an  EU  regulatory  framework,  mobilising 
investment, research & innovation and a stronger supply and value chain across Europe. 

To  complement  the  Action  Plan,  this  Communication  underlines  the  Commission’s 
continued  commitment  to  offshore  renewable  energies  and  reaching  the  new  offshore 
ambitions.  The  wind  industry  plays  a  significant  role  in  realising  these  ambitions,  but 
also  ocean  energy  technologies  will  have  to  make  an  important  contribution.  Besides, 
offshore  renewables  require  specific  components  in  their  supply  chain.  Therefore,  the 
Communication  takes  stock  of  the  progress  achieved  so  far  and  addresses  the  main 
challenges ahead and proposes a way forward to: 

•  Develop  cross-border  offshore  grids  based  on  reliable  methods  for  cost-benefit 

analysis and cost allocation. 

•  Fast-track permitting. 

•  Strengthen  maritime  spatial  planning  (MSP)  as  a  tool  to  enhance  regional  co-
operation  and  sustainable  co-existence  between  offshore  renewables  and  other 
industries at sea. 

•  Strengthen the resilience of offshore renewable infrastructure and maritime security. 

1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2020:741:FIN&qid=1605792629666  

2COM(2023)669 

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•  Sustain R&I efforts to ensure EU’s technological leadership and sustainable solutions 

reconciling offshore renewable activities with the environment. 

•  Support the EU supply chains to develop their capabilities to remain competitive and 
able to help realize the higher ambitions levels for installed offshore capacities in the 
EU  as  well  as  in  third  countries  through  dedicated  trade  dialogues  also  with  the 
involvement of industry. 

2.  NEW AMBITIONS FOR OFFSHORE RENEWABLE ENERGIES   

To  ensure  that  offshore  renewable  energy  gets  to  realise  its  full  potential,  the 
Commission  published  a  dedicated  EU  strategy  on  offshore  renewable  energy  in 
November  2020  called  An  EU  Strategy  to  harness  the  potential  of  offshore  renewable 
energy for a climate neutral future3 (referred to as ‘the strategy’ thereafter). 

The strategy was a step change by proposing several specific actions and milestones to 
support  the  long-term  sustainable  development  of  the  offshore  energy  sector  and  to 
increase the installed capacity of offshore wind  by 2030. And it set clear ambitions: to 
have an installed capacity of at least 60 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 300 GW by 
2050. In addition, an objective for ocean energy was set: to have at least 1 GW by 2030 
and 40 GW by 2050. 

Significant progress has been made since then. The actions proposed in the strategy have 
to a large extent been implemented or are well under way. At the same time, there have 
been significant developments in the field of offshore renewable energy. Moreover, the 
climate and energy targets as reflected in the Climate Law4 and the Fit-for-55 package as 
well as REPowerEU5 have further underlined that offshore renewables will have to play a 
key role in ensuring further decarbonisation, security of supply and replacing fossil fuel 
imports from Russia. 

In  January  2023,  building  on  the  strategy  and  the  TEN-E  Regulation,  Member  States 
agreed on non-binding goals for offshore renewable energy (ORE) generation by 2050, 
with intermediate goals for 2030 and 2040, in each of the EU’s five sea basins. The new 
goals  set  a  higher  ambition  level  for  installed  capacity  compared  to  the  strategy.  The 
2030 goals are nearly twice as high as the 61 GW ambition set out in the strategy. This 

3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2020:741:FIN  

4 Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing 

the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 
2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’)  

5 COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE 
EUROPEAN COUNCIL, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS REPowerEU Plan (COM/2022/230 
final) 

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gives  an  overall  ambition  of  installing  approximately  111  GW  of  ORE  generation 
capacity by the end of this decade and it rises to around 317 GW by mid-century. For the 
North Sea basin, the Ostend Summit in April 2023 resulted in a further strengthening of 
the ambition level to at least 300 GW by 2050 in the North Seas. 

In  2022,  the  cumulative  EU-27  offshore  installed  capacity  amounted  to  16.3  GW.  To 
bridge the gap between the 111 GW committed by Member States and the installations in 
2022, we must install almost 12 GW/year on average. This is 10 times more than the 1.2 
GW that were installed in 2022. 

The  EU  has  made  good  progress  in  ocean  energy  development  since  the  launch  of  the 
Offshore  Strategy.  Several  pilot  projects  of  tidal  and  wave  energy  are  well  advanced, 
including  with  support of Horizon Europe and the  Innovation Fund. 100  MW of ocean 
energy  capacity  is  achievable  by  2027  and  1  GW  by  the  end  of  the  decade  or  early 
2030’s.  

Regional cooperation is key to deliver on the offshore goals. Leaders and Ministers met 
on 17 December 2022 in Romania and 24 April 20236 in Belgium at offshore summits to 
agree  on  further  strengthening  cooperation  at  the  political  level  and  advancing  cross-
border  offshore  renewable  energy  projects.  These  summits  have  built  on  the  2022 
Esbjerg  and  Marienborg  summits  in  Denmark,  in  the  presence  of  President  von  der 
Leyen and Commissioner Simson, for enhanced cooperation on the accelerated rollout of 
offshore renewable energy. 

Furthermore, there is a growing interest in setting, at the upcoming COP28 in November 
2023, a global renewable target which would set a global ambition in line with the goals 
of  the  Paris  Agreement7.  Thus,  there  is  momentum  for  rapidly  accelerating  the 

6 https://energy.ec.europa.eu/news/president-von-der-leyen-participates-high-level-summit-focused-energy-

security-energy-partnerships-2022-12-16_en; https://northseasummit23.be/  

7 https://unfccc.int/documents/9097  

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deployment  of  all  forms  of  renewable  energy,  including  offshore  renewables.  In  this 
context, the G7 ministers have already agreed to increase offshore wind capacity by 150 
GW by 2030. 

Going forward, the Commission will continue to implement the actions introduced in the 
strategy, but also build upon these to enhance efforts to meet the new offshore ambitions. 

3.  HOW TO REALISE THE NEW OFFSHORE TARGETS – ACTIONS TAKEN AND FURTHER 

MEASURES 

3.1. 

Strengthening grid infrastructure and regional cooperation 

For  offshore  wind,  large  scale  projects  may  be  developed  far  from  shore.  Thus,  timely 
access to a well-functioning grid is crucial, both offshore to transport the electricity to the 
shore, and onshore to  ensure the necessary grid reinforcements so that  demand centres, 
also  in  non-coastal  regions,  can  fully  benefit  from  the  deployment  of  offshore 
renewables. 

Building  on  the  previous  successful  experience  with  the  political  High-Level  Groups 
(HLGs) as regional cooperation structures in the field of energy, with the revised TEN-E 
Regulation, a conducive framework has been put in place for cross-border co-operation. 
It  enables  the  EU  to  go  towards  an  integrated  and  efficient  offshore  and  onshore  grid, 
including  hybrid  projects  interconnecting  Member  States  and  offshore  wind  projects  – 
sometimes  of  very  large  scale,  like  the  planned  energy  islands  in  the  North  and  Baltic 
seas. By connecting several Member States, hybrid projects and interconnected offshore 
grids at large will improve security of supply, reduce costs for consumers and diminish 
environmental impacts.8 

For the accelerated deployment of offshore renewables, regional cooperation is essential. 
Through regional fora including the TEN-E regional groups and the political HLGs9, the 
Commission  has  been  promoting  the  development  of  offshore  wind  and  ocean  energy 
technologies  at  sea  basin  level.  These  efforts  have  recently  built  on  the  reinforced 
provision  on  offshore  grids  in  the  revised  TEN-E  Regulation,  which  includes  the 
requirement  on  Member  States  to  conclude  and  regularly  update  non-binding  goals  for 
offshore renewables by 2050 with intermediate steps for 2030 and 2040. The non-binding 
agreements of January 2023 will be updated by December 2024. 

8 The hybrid grid project “Kriegers Flak - Combined Grid Solution” is an example on how to close gaps in 
the  European  interconnected  grid  and  contribute  to  the  development  of  a  single  European  energy 
market  while  facilitating  the  incorporation  of  renewables.  The  project  was  a  European  Project  of 
Common Interest (PCI) and benefitted from the TEN-E Regulation. 

9  The North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC), the High-Level Group for Interconnections for South-
West Europe, the Baltic energy market interconnection plan (BEMIP), the Central and South Eastern 
Europe energy connectivity (CESEC), for further information: 
https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/infrastructure/high-level-groups_en  

4 

 
 
 
 
The Commission has facilitated cross-border cooperation and encouraged Member States 
to  integrate  objectives  of  offshore  renewable  energy  development  in  their  national 
maritime  spatial  plans,  in  line  with  national  energy  and  climate  plans.  As  a  result, 
Member  States  have  identified  and  allocated  substantial  areas  for  offshore  wind. 
Currently the most advanced regions regarding offshore are the North Sea Region and the 
Baltic  Region,  where  the  North  Sea  Energy  Co-operation  (NSEC) and  Baltic  energy 
market interconnection plan (BEMIP) serve as proactive regional cooperation platforms 
for  expanding  offshore  renewable  energy  production.  Member  States  from  the  Atlantic 
Arc, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea have also announced high political ambitions 
and  engage  with  EU  neighbours  in  these  regions.  In  addition,  macro-regional  and  sea 
basin strategies and interregional cooperation were supported by cohesion policy through 
pilot projects such as the Baltic Intergrid10.  

To  complement  regional  cooperation  under  the  TEN-E  framework,  the  revised 
Renewable  Energy  Directive  includes  provisions  to  support  cooperation  and  the 
deployment  of  offshore  renewable  energy.    It  requires  the  Member  States  to  agree  to 
establish a framework for cooperation on joint projects with one or more other Member 
States  to  produce  renewable  energy.  It  also  requires  the  Member  States  to  publish 
information  on  the  offshore  volumes  they  plan  to  achieve  through  tenders,  based  on 
indicative goals for offshore renewable generation to be deployed within each sea basin 
identified  in  accordance  with  the  TEN-E  Regulation.  Coordination  of  such  tender 
planning for offshore renewables on regional level has already started to be discussed in 
some  regional  formations,  notably  the  NSEC  High-level  group.  The  Directive  also 
encourages  Member  States  to  allocate  space  for  offshore  renewable  energy  projects  in 
their maritime spatial plans, considering the activities that already take place and that are 
planned in the affected areas. 

Furthermore,  the  European  association  for  the  cooperation  of  transmission  system 
operators  (ENTSO-E)  with  Member  States,  the  Commission  and  transmission  system 
operators  (TSOs)  collaborate  on  the  development  of  Offshore  Network  Development 
Plans  (ONDP),  which  will  provide  further  strategic  guidance  for  Member  States  and 
potential  investors  by  mapping  infrastructure  needs.  Based  on  Member  States’  non-
binding agreements, ONDPs will be developed for each sea basin providing a high-level 
outlook  on  offshore  generation  capacities  potential  and  resulting  offshore  grid  needs, 
including  for  the  long-term  until  2050.  The  potential  needs  for  interconnectors,  hybrid 
projects, radial connections, reinforcements and hydrogen infrastructure will be included. 
The  ONDPs  will  also  take  into  account  environmental  protection  and  other  uses  of  the 
sea. 

A substantial part of the electricity generated by these wind farms may in fact flow into 
other  countries,  including  landlocked.  Benefits  being  more  scattered  across  the  regions 
means  that  hosting  countries  may  have  more  limited  incentives  to  deploy  all  of  their 
offshore renewable potential if appropriate cooperation mechanisms are not utilised, both 
in the infrastructure and the renewable energy generation parts. Thus, it may be difficult 
to justify that tariff-payers and taxpayers of hosting countries cover all the burden, when 
in fact some of the benefits go elsewhere. The Commission is currently carrying out an 

10 Integrated Baltic offshore wind electricity grid development - Interreg Baltic Sea Region (interreg-

baltic.eu) 

5 

 
 
assessment that will identify the needs and complexities of an effective and pragmatic 
cost and benefit sharing that enables all the offshore ambitions to be reached. The study 
aims  to  inform  future  guidance  documents  as  regards  cost-sharing  for  infrastructure 
projects both at a sea-basin level and at project level. 

With the on-going implementation of the TEN-E Regulation, the Commission has been 
addressing grid related challenges. Nevertheless, there are several remaining challenges, 
such as the need to promote anticipatory investment in grids and solving cost-sharing 
issues  in  relation  to  offshore  grids,  energy  islands  and  offshore  hubs,  as  well  as  grids 
necessary to integrate offshore renewables. 

As  for  the  regulatory  framework,  all  the  actions  presented  in  the  strategy  would  be 
completed once the Electricity Market Design (EMD) proposals are adopted. The EMD 
proposal  includes  provisions  to  promote  the  use  of  Power  Purchasing  Agreements 
(PPAs) as well as Contracts for Difference (CfD). Both instruments intend to encourage 
to  reducing  price  risk  and  stimulating  investments,  giving  predictability  on  prices. 
Beyond price, the EMD gives an answer to another challenge of particular relevance for 
some offshore renewable projects in an offshore bidding zone – the risk of potentially not 
having market access to the hybrid interconnector to which they are connected because of 
constraints  in  the  onshore  grid.  EMD  proposes  such  volume  risk  via  an  appropriate 
financial compensation for a “transmission access guarantee”. 

Furthermore, the EMD recognises the importance of anticipatory investments and require 
tariff  methodologies  to  provide  appropriate  incentives  for  anticipatory  investments  and 
TOTEX11 solutions, as well as best practice sharing among Regulatory Authorities. Thus, 
for  investor  certainty,  there  is  complementarity  between  the  EMD  and  the  continuing 
work on anticipatory investment and cost-sharing mentioned above. 

A  further  commitment  in  the  strategy  was  to  begin  work  on  amendments  to  the 
Commission  Regulation  (EU)  2016/1447  on  requirements  for  grid  connection  of  high 
voltage direct current systems and direct current-connected power park modules (HVDC 
Network  Code)  to  ensure  that  it  is  fit  for  purpose  for  future  developments  in  offshore 
networks. This work is well underway through the Electricity Stakeholder Committee12. 

Building on the above the Commission will focus on the following: 

•  The  Commission  will,  in  close  consultation  with  the  Member  States  and  relevant 
Transmission  System  Operators  (TSO),  the  European  Union  Agency  for  the 
Cooperation  of  Energy  Regulator  (ACER)  and  National  Regulatory  Authorities 
(NRA), publish guidance for a specific cost-benefit analysis and cost sharing with 
two angles: first, at  the level of offshore network development plans per sea basin, 
with  the  aim  to  provide  the  principles  that  can  help  ENTSO-E  improving  future 
editions  of  the  plans;  and,  second,  at  project  level,  considering  both  renewable  and 

11  Total  expenditure  (TOTEX)  comprising  capital  expenditure  (CAPEX)  and  operational  expenditure 

(OPEX) 

12  CROS Phase 1 report available here: https://www.entsoe.eu/network_codes/cnc/expert-groups 

6 

 
 
 
infrastructure for cross-border offshore grid projects. This will be based on extensive 
exchanges  with  Member  States,  including  at  political  level,  and  support  authorities 
and promoters in their discussions on new potential cross-border projects and hence 
promote the development of offshore renewables. 

• 

In implementing the revised TEN–E Regulation and the Renewable Energy Directive, 
the Commission will seek to increase the attractiveness of offshore hybrids and joint 
projects  over  national  projects.  Besides  the  ONDPs  and  cost-benefit  sharing 
guidance, the Commission is working with co-legislators to speed-up the adoption of 
the  EMD  for  an  improved  regulatory  framework.  Following  the  conclusions  from 
Copenhagen  Energy  Infrastructure  Forum  of  202313,  the  Commission  will  also 
address  anticipatory 
investments,  by  organising  a  workshop  with  relevant 
stakeholders and, if appropriate, develop guidance. 

•  Building on the strengths and achievements, the Commission will continue to use the 
High-level  groups  for  the  better  cooperation  and  coordination  for  accelerated 
deployment, considering the business cases of the different offshore assets and actors 
(TSOs,  NRAs  RES  developers,  Member  States),  facilitating  the  establishment  of 
offshore  bidding  zones  and  mitigating  the  additional  risks  that  hybrid  offshore 
projects may entail.  

•  The Commission will also promote further coordination of Member States’ forward 
planning for the publication of auctions for offshore renewable energies through 
the  High-level  groups  which  should  include  the  regular  publication  of  auction 
schedules.  In  this  context,  the  Commission  will  also  promote  further  exchanges  on 
the convergence of auction criteria. This should in particular facilitate the realisation 
of  joint  and  hybrid  projects.  Improved  auction  design  is  also  a  key  element  in  the 
Wind Power Action Plan. 

3.2.  Accelerating permitting 

With the ambition levels described in chapter 2, the current pace of project deployment 
will need to speed up significantly. 

Offshore  grid  infrastructure  projects  are  often  subject  to  lengthy  permitting 
procedures in view of the distance that they cover and their cross-border nature. This in 
turn affects the expedited deployment of the necessary grids to ensure the electrification 
of  the  EU.  The  revised  TEN-E  Regulation  contains  additional  provisions  aiming  at 
accelerating the permitting process, such as the creation of a unique point of contact for 
offshore  projects  of  common  interest.  It  also  establishes  a  framework  that  fosters 
enhanced  public  acceptance  through  timely  and  inclusive  public  participation.  For  this 
purpose,  the  Commission  also  supports  the  co-operation  among  national  competent 
authorities (NCPs) for permitting to facilitate sharing of best practises to achieve efficient 

13 https://energy.ec.europa.eu/document/download/b74bef91-5434-4928-ae6e-

36c9ae0b77c5_en?filename=Conclusions%209th%20EIF_13%20June%20FINAL.pdf  

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permitting procedures across the Member States.  Such discussions and co-operation are 
taking place in a dedicated platform as well as in the TEN-E Regulation regional groups. 

The revised Renewable Energy Directive includes provisions to simplify and accelerate 
permit-granting  for  renewable  energy  projects,  as  well  as  for  the  necessary 
infrastructure projects to integrate the additional renewables into the electricity system. It 
calls  for  the  creation  of  specific  “renewables  acceleration  areas”  (RAA)  where  permit-
granting  for  renewable  energy  projects  can  go  ahead  quickly,  in  balance  with 
considerations  related  to  the  environment  and  biodiversity  protection.  Member  States 
may also designate similar dedicated infrastructure areas for grids and storage necessary 
to  integrate  renewables  into  the  system.  Environmental  impact  assessments,  where 
required,  have  been  included  in  the  deadlines  for  the  permit-granting  process  for 
renewable energy projects, and, recognising the complexity of offshore renewable energy 
projects,  the  deadlines  for  these  projects  are  one  year  longer  than  for  onshore  projects. 
The  Energy  and  Geography  Industry  Lab  (EIGL)  developed  by  the  European 
Commission provides a wide range of relevant data sets and can support Member States 
in streamlining their RAA identification.14 

In addition to the legislative measures, the guidance accompanying the Recommendation 
on speeding up permit-granting procedure, adopted as part of the REPowerEU Plan on 18 
May 2022, includes good practice examples that can support the deployment of offshore 
renewable  energy,  such  as  multiple  use  of  space  and  environmental  pre-assessments  of 
offshore  wind  sites.  As  a  follow-up  to  the  Recommendation15  and  guidance16,  an 
informal Commission expert group has been set up, consisting of Member State experts. 
The expert group will discuss the implementation of the recommendations and exchange 
good practices on several topics, including offshore renewable energy.  

Furthermore,  the Concerted  Action  on  the  Renewable  Energy  Directive  (CA  RES) is  a 
joint  initiative  between  the  EU  Member  States  and  the  European  Commission.  Its 
objective  is  to  facilitate  the  sharing  of  information  and  national  experiences  to  support 
the  effective  transposition  and  implementation  of  the  RED,  including  as  regards  the 
provisions  on  permitting.  In  addition,  the  adopted  Recovery  and  Resilience  Plans  also 
include  reforms  aiming  at  improving  the  regulatory  regime  for  offshore  wind 
deployment.  The  European  Commission  also  supports  EU  Member  States  via  the 
Technical  Support  Instrument  with 
the  design  and 
implementation of reforms.17  

tailor-made  expertise  for 

Building on the above the Commission will focus on the following: 

•  The Commission will strengthen support to national authorities in the implementation 
of  the  provisions  to  accelerate  permitting  procedures  through  CA  RES  under  the 

14 https://energy-industry-geolab.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ 

15 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-

content/EN/TXT/?uri=PI_COM%3AC%282022%293219&qid=1653033569832  

16 https://energy.ec.europa.eu/publications/speeding-permit-granting-and-ppas-swd2022149151_en  

17  https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/technical-support-

instrument/technical-support-instrument-tsi_en  

8 

 
 
Renewable  Energy  Directive  and  support  the  work  and  exchanges  of  the  national 
competent  authorities18  in  charge  of  permitting  under  the  TEN-E  Regulation, 
including  through  providing  technical  assistance  to  a  group  of  Member  States.  The 
Commission  will  also  support  Member  States  in  implementing  the  provisions  on 
accelerating  permitting  for  all  grids  necessary  to  integrate  renewable  energy 
mobilising the Single Market Enforcement Task Force (SMET) as necessary. 

3.3.  Ensuring integrated Maritime Spatial Planning 

Maritime  spatial  planning  (MSP)  is  a  necessary  tool  to  allocate  sea  space  for  different 
uses of the sea using an ecosystem-based approach and to ensure long-term co-existence 
and  preservation  of  the  ecosystems  The  Commission  has  established  an  EU  MSP 
Platform  for  sharing  knowledge  and  experiences,  prepared  guidance  on  managing 
tensions with sectors in competition with ORE and issued best practice for multi-uses of 
space and cross-border cooperation. The Commission will continue to facilitate national 
maritime  spatial  planning  by  identifying  potential  tensions,  providing  guidance, 
supporting cross-border co-operation and supporting projects in these areas. These efforts 
include support to national authorities with the implementation of the MSP Directive19, 
including for ORE developments. 

Planning  offshore  renewables  operations  will  need  to  ensure  co-existence  with  other 
human  activities  and  uses  at  sea  while  safeguarding  the  achievement  of  environmental 
and nature protection and restoration objectives, as well as safety of navigation at sea. In 
May 2023, the Commission launched the European Blue Forum for users of the sea to 
facilitate  a  dialogue  in  an  open  and  prospective  approach  between  science  and 
stakeholders  involved  in  marine  protection,  energy,  maritime  industry  and  transport, 
fisheries and aquaculture, tourism and health. Additionally on fisheries, the Commission 
is strongly engaged with the sector and regional advisory councils to facilitate exchanges 
of knowledge and dialogue.  

Most Member States have adopted their maritime spatial  plans and have identified and 
allocated space for offshore renewable projects. 17 out of 22 coastal Member States have 
a  plan  as  required  by  the  MSP  Directive.  Several  plans  are  being  revised  to 
accommodate higher ambition  for offshore renewables as  well as nature protection and 
restoration  targets  under  the  EU  2030  Biodiversity  Strategy.  The  Commission  calls  on 
those  Member  States  that  have  not  yet  adopted  their  MSPs  as  strategic  and  integrated 
planning  to  deliver  on  their  legal  obligation  and  to  set  aside  space  for  energy  in  co-
ordination with other economic activities, including fisheries, along a synergies by design 
approach, in line with their national energy and climate plans NECPs. 

18  In  2021  the  National  Competent  Authorities  (NCAs)  agreed  to  establish  a  dedicated  forum  for  their 
cooperation. The Commission has supported the NCAs’ initiative supporting the coordination of their 
regular  meetings  and  their  efforts  to  identify  best  practices  and  opportunities  for  the  acceleration  of 
permitting procedures. 

19 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32014L0089 

9 

 
 
 
The EU  Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directive  (MSFD)20  has  been  put  in  place  to 
protect the marine ecosystem and biodiversity upon which our health and marine-related 
economic and social activities depend. This Directive requires the achievement of good 
environmental  status  of  EU  seas,  thus  ensuring  that  the  marine  environment  is  clean, 
healthy and productive, while enabling the sustainable use of marine goods and services 
by  present  and  future  generations.  In  particular,  the  Directive  calls  for  addressing  the 
cumulative impacts of human activities on the state of the marine environment, as part of 
its ecosystem-based approach, by taking the necessary measures to achieve the threshold 
values for good environmental status. 

Under the OSPAR Convention for the protection of the Northeast Atlantic coastal and 
marine  environment21,  a  technical  group  dedicated  to  the  offshore  renewable  energy 
development is exploring through studies the impacts of offshore renewable energies on 
the  marine  environment  and  biodiversity.  Similar  co-operation  is  taking  place  under 
HELCOM Convention, a joint working group co-chaired by HELCOM and the Vision 
and Strategies for the Baltic Sea group (VASAB) aims to ensure cooperation among the 
Baltic  Sea  Region  countries  for  coherent  regional  Maritime  Spatial  Planning  (MSP) 
processes  in  the  Baltic  Sea.  While  research  efforts  concentrate  on  specific  areas  and 
species,  which  corresponds  to  the  current  level  of  deployment  of  offshore  wind  farms, 
continuous  research  and  innovation  funding  is  needed  to  address  cumulative  impacts. 
This  was  also  highlighted  in  a  recent  Special  Report  by  the  European  Court  of 
Auditors22.  

Building on the above the Commission will focus on the following: 

•  When  aligning  MSPs  with  increasing  overall  ORE  targets  and  sea-basin  ambitions, 
the Commission will explore with Member States and regional organisations ways to 
move  from  purely  national  MSPs  with  cross-border  consultations  to  regional  MSP 
planning  within  the  respective  sea  basins,  ensuring  that  sufficient  sea  space  is 
allocated to enable such offshore renewable ambitions. This is to be compatible with 
other marine economic activities as well as with environmental objectives and nature 
protection  and  restoration  targets  at  sea.  As  highlighted  in  the  strategy,  the 
Commission will also support coastal regions, the EU outermost regions, and islands 
to tap into their vast offshore renewable energy potential. 

•  Building  on  existing  legal  framework  and  funding  instruments  such  as  Horizon 
Europe, the Commission will complement its support to  Member States in terms  of 
identifying,  estimating  and  addressing  the  effects  that  offshore  renewable  energy 
installations have on ecosystems and biodiversity,  including the cumulative effects at 
sea basin level23. 

20 https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/marine-and-coastal-environment_en 

21 https://www.ospar.org/site/assets/files/1169/ospar_convention.pdf 

22 European Court of Auditors: Special report 22/2023: “Offshore renewable energy in the EU – ambitious 

plans for growth but sustainability remains a challenge” 

23 This is in line with the Special Report of the European Court of Auditors: Offshore Renewable Energy in 

the EU. 

10 

 
 
•  The  Commission  will  support  Member  States  in  establishing  the  necessary  links 
between  ORE  developments,  MSP  and  the  marine  strategies  developed  under  the 
MSFD for achieving the offshore renewable ambitions and good environmental status 
through appropriate fora such as the Greater North Sea Basin Initiative (GNSBI), 

•  By means of expert group meetings, regional cooperation and support for dedicated 
projects,  the Commission  will work with Member States to  include areas for multi-
use when revising national MSPs. This would facilitate permitting processes and co-
existence of offshore developments including grids.   

3.4. 

Strengthening the resilience of infrastructure 

The  Russian  war  of  aggression  in  Ukraine  and  the  sabotage  on  the  North  Stream  gas 
pipeline illustrate the importance of having a resilient infrastructure in place for both the 
defence  and  energy  sector.  The  Commission  and  the  EEAS  adopted  in  March  2023  an 
updated  EU  Maritime  Security  Strategy  (EUMSS (24) and  Action  Plan.  In  October 
2023,  the  Council  is  expected  to  endorse  a  revised  EU  maritime  security  strategy.  The 
strategy  and  its  action  plan  have  been  updated  to  address,  among  other  issues,  threats 
against critical maritime infrastructure. The revised strategy includes a variety of actions 
that will improve surveillance, protection and resilience of infrastructure such as energy 
pipelines,  data  and  electricity  cables,  wind  farms,  ports  etc.  from  conventional,  hybrid 
and  cyber-attacks.  The  strategy  also  addresses  the  implementation  of  solutions  for  co-
existence  between  ORE  projects  and  defence  activities.  The  Symbiosis  project  will 
contribute to the development of such solutions. 

In January 2023, the Directive on the Resilience of Critical Entities25  (CER Directive) 
and the Directive on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the 
Union (NIS2 Directive)  entered into  force, putting  forward new rules to  strengthen the 
resilience  of  critical  entities.  Also  in  January,  President  von  der  Leyen  announced 
together  with  NATO  Secretary  General  Stoltenberg  a 
task  force  on  resilient 
infrastructure,  enhancing  cooperation  with  our  key  partners.  The  Final  Assessment 
Report of the Task Force was published in June 202326. In December 2022, the Council 
adopted  the  Recommendation  on  a  Union-wide  coordinated  approach  to  strengthen  the 
resilience  of  critical  infrastructure.  One  key  priority  here  is  the  conduct  of  stress  tests, 
starting with the energy sector. The role of Member States is key, and cooperation on this 
important matter is essential. The Commission adopted in September 2023 a proposal for 
a  Council  Recommendation  on  a  Blueprint  to  coordinate  a  Union-level  response  to 
disruptions of critical infrastructure with significant cross-border relevance27. In order to 
successfully  strengthen  our  preparedness,  it  is  vital  that  Member  States  share 
information, even on a confidential basis, as appropriate. 

24  https://oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu/ocean/blue-economy/other-sectors/maritime-security-

strategy_en  

25  Directive  (EU)  2022/2557  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  resilience  of  critical 
entities and repealing Council Directive 2008/114/EC (OJ L 333, 27.12.2022, p. 164) 

26 EU-NATO_Final Assessment Report Digital.pdf (europa.eu) 

27 COM(2023) 526 final 

11 

 
 
 
In line with the strategy, the Commission and the European Defence Agency have set up 
a joint project called Symbiosis28 supported by Horizon Europe with EUR 2 million. The 
project will identify and address barriers for offshore renewable energy developments in 
areas used or reserved for present and future military activities and purposes. The project 
started in October 2022 and will run until 31 March 2025.  

Taking into account the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the presence of Russian 
vessels around maritime infrastructure in the Baltic and North Seas, as well as the attacks 
on the Nord Stream  2 pipelines, the EU is  putting more emphasis  on maritime security 
and  the  resilience  of  critical  infrastructure  at  sea.  Ensuring  effective  co-existence 
between energy and defence infrastructure at sea will be a priority. The Commission will: 

•  Seek to strengthen the resilience and protection of offshore renewable infrastructure, 

mindful of regional specificities and threats levels.  

•  Step up cooperation between Member States, with the support of relevant agencies, to 

develop regional surveillance plans for offshore infrastructure. 

•  Develop cooperation on cybersecurity in the offshore domain with like-minded non-
EU countries at bilateral and multilateral level in the context of e.g. cyber dialogues. 

3.5. 

 Research and innovation supporting offshore energy 

Research  and  innovation  have  been  essential  in  making  the  EU  a  leader  in  certain 
offshore technologies, such as offshore wind29. A sustained R&I effort is fundamental to 
keep this leadership. EU research and innovation activities are ongoing on several other 
emerging  technologies  which  are  relevant  for  the  offshore  sector,  like  floating 
photovoltaic, algae as source of sustainable bio-fuels and offshore hydrogen systems. .As 
some  technologies  such  as  bottom  fixed  wind  turbines  have  reached  a  high  technology 
readiness level, there is a need to innovate production processes with a view to upscaling, 
while continuing to explore novel concepts that will take longer time to industrialise and 
standardise. 

Floating  offshore is  a priority  as this technology  is  necessary to  unlock the potential in  
deeper waters, such as the Atlantic and Mediterranean sea. Prototypes and demonstrators 
are  developed  to  test  and  improve  the  performance  and  reduce  costs.  Even  if  many 
different floating wind technologies are progressing, no concept has so far prevailed over 
others. However, the different solutions are at different technology readiness levels, with 
some  of  them  closer  to  market  deployment.  Ireland,  Portugal,  Spain,  Italy,  Malta  and 
Greece  have  identified  potential  sites  for  floating  wind  developments,  and  France  is 
organizing its first tender for a commercial floating wind park. 

28 https://eda.europa.eu/docs/default-source/brochures/eda-symbiosis_factsheet---v4.pdf  

29 JRC, Clean Energy Technology Observatory: Wind energy in the European Union - 2023 Status Report 

on Technology Development Trends, Value Chains and Markets 

12 

 
 
 
 
The  EU  has  made  good  progress  in  ocean  energy  development  since  the  launch  of  the 
Offshore Strategy30. This has been achieved notably with EU funding for R&I. However, 
progress is needed in many areas such as design and validation of ocean energy devices, 
logistics  and  marine  operations.  The  revised  Renewable  Energy  Directive  has  an 
indicative target of at least 5% of all new installations by 2030 to come from innovative 
renewables,  such  as  ocean  energy  technologies.  The  Commission  will  therefore 
encourage Member States to include targeted policies to support the deployment of ocean 
energy technologies in the revised National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). 

The Commission has set up a website dedicated providing an overview over EU funding 
programmes relevant to finance offshore renewable energy projects 31, including but not 
limited to research and innovation. As this overview shows, over the period 2009-2022, 
offshore  technologies  have  received  the  largest  share  of  EU  funding  across  all  wind 
research and innovation priorities.   

Various  projects  under  Horizon  Europe  (HE),  especially  under  Pillar  2  Cluster  5 
Climate,  Energy  &  Mobility,  have  supported  offshore  renewables.  For  instance,  the 
InterOPERA  project  is  the  EU’s  flagship  project  to  support  the  cooperation  between 
TSOs,  manufacturers  and  offshore  wind  developers  to  start  a  large-scale  High  Voltage 
Direct  Current  (HVDC)  grid  demonstration  project.    Other  projects  have  supported  the 
development of new wind, ocean energy and solar floating technology designs as well as 
systematically  integrating  the  principle  of  ‘circularity  by  design’  into  renewables 
research &  innovation.    The Horizon Europe Mission  “Restore our  Ocean and Waters” 
has  launched  several  research  projects  to  advance  knowledge  for  the  integration  of 
aquaculture production within offshore wind farms.  

The European Regional Development Fund has also supported a number of projects to 
support  offshore  renewables,  including,  for  example,  the  development  of  innovative, 
better performing  high-voltage cables and the creation of an Offshore Wind Innovation 
Centre  in  Eemshaven  (NL).32  The  Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility  is  financing  the 
deployment of offshore wind (1500 MW), floating wind and solar capacities (100 MW) 
and the deployment of pilot projects in marine energy. It also finances the construction of 
an offshore energy island, offshore energy platforms and port infrastructures which serve 
the maintenance of offshore wind farms.  

The Innovation Fund has taken steps to accommodate breakthrough projects, like ocean 
energy  technologies,  and  recently  selected  two  ocean  projects  for  grant  under  the  topic 
mid-sized pilots. One project integrates several energy sources, including wave and wind 
energy,  as  well  as  a  full  hydrogen  system  (electrolyser,  storage  and  fuel  cells).  The 
Innovation  Fund  also  has  a  manufacturing  topic  covering  innovative  technologies  for 
clean-tech  manufacturing.  This  includes  components  for  renewable  energy  generation. 
The next call will have a size of EUR 4 billion and cater for projects of all sizes.   

30 JRC, Clean Energy Technology Development and Outlook - 2023 Report 

31   Overview  of  EU  funding  for  offshore  renewables:  https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/renewable-

energy/financing/eu-funding-offshore-renewables_en  

32 More information on these and other projects on wind energy supported by Cohesion Policy can be 
found on https://kohesio.ec.europa.eu/en/projects  

13 

 
 
Under  the  InvestEU  Programme,  which  is  also  supporting  private  investments  in 
offshore  renewables,  more  than  EUR  1  billion  of  loans  to  offshore  projects  has  so  far 
been approved. For example, the EIB has recently signed an agreement to co-finance the 
construction of the first offshore wind farm in Poland — one of the largest in the world 
—  with  a  loan  of  up  to  EUR  610  million,  EUR  350  million  of  which  backed  by  the 
InvestEU programme.33  

The  Commission  has  closely  co-operated  with  the  Strategic  Energy  Technology  Plan 
(SET  Plan)  countries  to  review  the  SET  Plan  targets  on  ocean  energy  and  offshore 
wind, their implementation agendas and to launch an additional SET Plan working group 
on HVDC. The Commission will: 

•  Support the European Technology and Innovation Platform (ETIP) on wind energy to 
revise their Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda and publish it by end of 2023 
and  support  the  ETIP  on  ocean  energy  to  revise  their  Strategic  Research  and 
Innovation Agenda and publish it in spring 2024.  

• 

• 

In  2024,  as  part  of  the  implementation  of  the  revamped  SET  Plan,  and  considering 
the latest political priorities, reassess and possibly revise the R&I targets of the SET 
Plan  Implementation  Working  Group  on  wind  energy,  and  promote  a  stronger 
representation of countries in this group.  

In  2024,  as  part  of  the  implementation  of  the  revamped  SET  Plan,  pay  special 
attention  to  manufacturing,  circularity,  materials,  skills  and  societal  needs  with  the 
aim of advancing the competitiveness of the clean energy sector, including offshore 
renewables.    

Over the coming years, research and innovation actions identified in the strategy will be 
continued and enhanced, mainly through Horizon Europe and its work programs and, 
where relevant, dedicated, calls for proposals. The Commission will in particular: 

•  Continue its focus on circularity as a priority given circular solutions can boost the 
competitiveness  of  the  sector,  reduce  the  risk  of  disruptions  in  the  supply  of  raw 
materials and improve the environmental and sustainability performance of offshore 
renewable energy. 

• 

In 2024, launch a series of projects focused on advanced materials for magnets, with 
special  attention  to  permanent  magnets  for  wind  turbines.  These  projects  will 
contribute  to  substitute  critical  materials  in  wind  turbines  to  decrease  material 
dependency. 

33 https://www.eib.org/en/press/all/2023-341-poland-investeu-eib-supports-one-of-the-world-s-largest-

wind-farms-with-eur610-million-in-
financing#:~:text=The%20European%20Investment%20Bank%20(EIB,by%20the%20LLC%20Baltic
%20Power 

14 

 
 
 
• 

In 2024, launch a research and innovation action to reduce the environmental impact 
and  optimise  the  socio-economic  impacts  of  offshore  wind  farms.  Addressing 
cumulative  effects  that  different  human  activities  and  multiple  offshore  renewable 
energy farms have on ecosystems at sea basin level requires particular attention. 

•  Continue its efforts to improve industrial productivity and efficiency across the value 
chain of offshore wind energy. This involves improved manufacturing technologies, 
including  digital  technologies,  such  as  Internet  of  Things  devices.  An  important 
objective is to build scale and reduce cost. The Commission will launch in 2024 an 
innovation action to demonstrate offshore floating wind. 

•  Work  with  Member  States  and  regions,  including  islands,  to  make  use  of  available 
funds  in  a  coordinated  manner  for  ocean  energy  technologies  to  achieve  a  total 
capacity  of  100  MW  across  the  EU  by  2027  and  around  1  GW  by  2030.34  Topics 
have  been  launched  comprising  tidal  and  wave  farms  asking  for  synergies  with 
national regional funding programmes. 

•  Explore innovative procurement as a mechanism to de-risk technology development 
and  maintain  European  offshore  renewables  technological  leadership,  building  on 
existing European Commission initiatives35. 

3.6.  Developing supply chains and skills 

The strategy addressed the supply chain and skills dimension in considerable detail and 
various  actions  have  been  implemented  since.  However,  high  inflation  rates  stemming 
from the effects of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine, including on energy and food 
prices, global supply chains adjusting to the reopening after the pandemic lockdowns, a 
recovery in demand with a switch from services towards goods, and tight labour markets 
have  put  pressure  on  the  overall  economy,  including  the  offshore  renewable  industry’s 
capacity  to  deliver.  Furthermore,  increased  competition  from  China  and  the  potential 
effects of the US Inflation Reduction Act make it necessary to pay particular attention to 
the framework conditions for the EU supply chains36.  

Despite  important  differences,  the  EU  supply  chains  for  offshore  renewables  are 
intrinsically linked to those of the wind sector. To address the current challenges for wind 
manufacturers,  the  Commission  has  presented  an  Action  Plan  for  the  European  wind 
manufacturing industry37. Policy measures and actions that are of particular relevance to 
the offshore supply chains are elaborated below.   

34 Recently, longer project lead times have made 2027 a more realistic timeframe than 2025 that was set 

out in the strategy. 

35 For example, the Horizon 2020 ‘Europewave’ project – https://www.europewave.eu/ 

36 2023 Progress Report on the Competitiveness of Clean Energy Technologies COM(2023)652  

37 COM(2023)669 

15 

 
 
 
The  EU  supply  chain  for  offshore  wind  farms  is  a  complex  network  of  segments  and 
components interlinked to  each other. Growing  demand for offshore wind farms across 
Europe and globally is reflected in the corresponding increasing demand for EU offshore 
wind  turbines,  foundations,  HVDC  substations  and  other  electrical  equipment,  cables, 
port  readiness  and  vessels.  For  EU  manufacturers  to  be  able  to  continue  serving 
increasing demand within and outside the EU, the EU’s manufacturing capabilities need 
to  grow  substantially  and  at  an  accelerated  pace  to  meet  the  block’s  fast-growing 
demand. At the same time, outside the EU, manufacturing  capacities for offshore wind 
components are quickly growing and further substantial expansion is being projected. In 
parallel  to  expanding  manufacturing  capacity  to  meet  the  increasing  demand  to  deploy 
offshore  wind,  EU  manufacturers  need  to  remain  competitive  in  fierce  international 
competition. Additional challenges pertain to the operation and maintenance stage based 
on cybersecurity concerns, and the availability of installation vessels for offshore wind38. 
Bottlenecks are expected to arise in virtually all parts of the offshore supply chain in the 
EU in the next few years.  

A  particular  segment  of  the  supply  chain  is  that  of  ports,  unique  gateways  to  offshore 
energy  installations.  They  provide  terminals  for  the  vessels  needed  for  offshore 
installation and maintenance, and they can allocate the space and conditions needed for 
the fabrication and assembly of certain components. The increasing size of wind turbine 
blades  pose  logistical  challenges.  This  requires  major  investments,  for  example  in 
dredging, space for storing and assembly of turbines, or in crane capabilities. Moreover, 
the offshore renewable energy sector currently mostly relies on vessels built outside the 
EU  which  may  create  risks  to  future  supply  chains.  Therefore,  the  development  of 
offshore renewable energy constitutes an opportunity for the EU maritime equipment and 
shipbuilding industries.  In order to address these challenges, the following actions have 
been initiated: 

•  The  Commission  will  address  the  role  of  ports  and  their  challenges  related  to  both 
their  own  environmental  footprint  and  their  ability  to  help  decarbonise  industrial 
activities  and  maritime  transport.  These  challenges  are  addressed  by  a  pilot  project 
called Port Electricity Commercial Model to be finalised in the first half of 2024.  

•  A study is carried out within the NSEC framework to address the capacity of ports to 
support  the  fast  roll-out  of  offshore  wind  by  mapping,  categorising  and  prioritising 
port infrastructure needs relating to offshore wind developments39.  

•  The  trans-European  transport  network  regulation  (TEN-T)  that  is  currently  being 
revised  and  the  TEN-E  regulation  are  both  relevant  for  port  infrastructure.  The 
Commission  will  promote  synergies  and  complementarities  between  the  two 
regulations  with  a  view  to  improving  the  overall  framework  conditions  for  ports 
wishing to step up their activities in the offshore renewables sector.   

38 See footnote 1 

39  Study  will  be    published  on the  NSEC  webpage:  https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/infrastructure/high-

level-groups/north-seas-energy-cooperation_en 

16 

 
 
The European Commission presented in 2023 the Green Deal Industrial Plan (GDIP) to 
enhance the competitiveness of Europe's net-zero industry and support the fast transition 
to  climate  neutrality.  The  Plan  aims  to  provide  a  more  supportive  environment  for  the 
scaling up of the EU's manufacturing capacity for the net-zero technologies and products 
required to  meet  Europe's ambitious climate targets.  The Plan is structured around  four 
main pillars: a predictable and simplified regulatory environment, faster access to public 
and private funding for clean tech production in Europe, initiatives to enhancing skills for 
the green transition and, finally, the encouraging open trade and resilient supply chains. 
The Net-Zero Industry Act40 and the Critical Raw Materials Act41 proposed 16 March 
2023 are the main acts to develop the GDIP. Both acts will contribute to increasing the 
EU’s resilience by boosting manufacturing capacity and reinforcing bilateral partnerships 
and multilateral co-operation.  

In  particular,  access  to  raw  materials  is  a  critical  topic.  Many  wind  turbines’  electric 
generators  rely  on  rare-earth  permanent  magnets  to  deliver  their  high  efficiency  and 
performance levels42. While the EU has a leading role in the global wind turbines market, 
China  dominates  the  rare  earth  elements  market,  from  raw  materials  to  magnet 
production43.  Consequently,  the  EU  is  exposed  to  potential  disruptions  related  to  the 
supply  of  rare  earth  element  (REE)  materials  and  components.  To  increase  the  EU’s 
strategic autonomy, reduce  over-dependencies, strengthen supply chains and reduce the 
environmental footprint a combination of strategies and actions is being explored both in 
the NZIA and Critical Raw Materials Act (CRM), including:  

•  boosting extraction of REE resources in Europe; 

• 

increasing  component  manufacturing  capacity  in  the  EU,  with  special  emphasis  on 
REE refining and the production of permanent magnets; 

•  enhancing recycling of permanent magnets and substitution of REE with innovative 

materials and designs. 

•  promoting partnerships with partner countries to ensure undisrupted supply of critical 

raw materials; 

The  proposed  Critical  Raw  Materials  Act  also  contains  provisions  requesting  the 
Member States to design measures aiming at improving the circularity of the critical and 
strategic  raw  materials  and  by  this  fostering  the  creation  of  a  secondary  raw  materials 
market in the EU. Horizon Europe will also contribute to the achievement of such goals 
through ongoing research and innovation projects on circularity, where the Commission 
will monitor their uptake by the industry44. 

40 EUR-Lex - 52023PC0161 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu) 

41 EUR-Lex - 52023PC0160 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu) 

42  These rare earth elements (REE) are Neodymium (Nd), Praseodymium (Pr), Dysprosium (Dy) and 

Terbium (Tb).  

43 JRC, 2023: Carrara et.al. "Supply chain analysis and material demand forecast in strategic technologies 

and sectors in the EU - A foresight study", 
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC132889 

44 This is line with the recommendations of the European Court of Auditors’ report on Offshore Renewable 

Report | European Court of Auditors (europa.eu) 

17 

 
 
The  Net-Zero  Industry  Act  (NZIA)  proposes  a  simplified  regulatory  framework  for 
production of clean tech and the components of the supply chains needed and proposes 
accelerated  permitting  procedures  for  clean  tech  manufacturing  projects.  Offshore 
renewable  technologies  and  grid  technologies  are  listed  in  the  proposed  NZIA  as 
strategic net-zero technologies, critical for EU’s path towards its 2030 climate and energy 
objectives45. This will allow offshore renewable manufacturing projects to be recognised 
as  net-zero  strategic  projects,  benefitting  from  a  priority  status,  shortened  permitting 
procedures  and  administrative  support  for  a  rapid  and  effective  implementation. 
Additionally,  to  support  the  deployment  of  high-standard  products,  the  NZIA  proposal 
requires  renewable  energy  auctions  to  award  the  contract  also  based  on  resilience  and 
environmental sustainability criteria46.  

In view of the urgency to support the resilience of European manufacturing for offshore 
renewables, the Commission will take a number of actions in relation to the coordination 
of auctions and the convergence of criteria as explained in more detail in the wind action 
plan.  

The Commission will also further optimise the use of existing financing instruments and 
work with the European Investment Bank on possible dedicated financing streams. 

As for skills, the offshore renewable energies (ORE) sector is growing. Today it accounts 
for around 80,000 jobs and is expected to create between 20,000 and 54,00047 new ones 
in the next five years across Europe. However, with such a rapid development access to 
skilled  labour  may  become  a  challenge  for  the  many  specialised  parts  of  the  supply 
chains and offshore specific training will become more important as the activities at sea 
will  grow.  In  this  context,  the  industry  will  have  to  address  risks  of  skills  shortages. 
Today, managers, engineers and technicians are  already in high demand and vacant job 
positions are already difficult to fill. This will require a combined approach, accelerating 
efforts both to: 

•  Support the development of new skills both for people working in or entering the 

industry, especially in digitalisation, ICT, robotics, health and safety.  

• 

Improve the diversity and inclusiveness of the sector. This means supporting gender 
balance and attracting youth as well as those workers in transition from other sectors 
with the view to ensuring that the green transition is a just transition. 

As  stressed  in  the  2020  Skills  Agenda  and  reflected  by  the  European  Year  of  Skills, 
addressing  skills  challenges  is  a  priority  for  the  Commission.  In  addition  to  broader 
initiatives 
the  Council 
recommendations  on  vocational  education  and  training,  individual  learning  accounts48 

to  support  skills  development 

instance 

through 

for 

45 EUR-Lex - 52023PC0161 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu) 

46 There are promising developments with the increasing practices by Member States of setting non-price 
criteria  in  offshore  wind  auctions,  including  on  co-location  of  nature  enhancement  projects,  multi-
technologies (e.g. floating wind, wave energy or floating solar), fisheries and aquaculture.  

47 Observatory – Flores (oreskills.eu) 

48 Council Recommendation 2022/C 243/03 

18 

 
 
and  micro-credentials49,  the  Commission  has  developed  specific  initiatives  to  address 
sectoral  needs.  For  instance,  the  successful  Erasmus+  Blueprint  Alliance  for  sectoral 
cooperation on skills in  maritime technologies (MATES) contributed to the setting up of 
a  large-scale  partnership  for  offshore  renewable  energy  under  the  Pact  for  Skills.  The 
partnership  aims  to  attract  new  workers  to  the  sector,  in  particular  young  people  and 
women, and support training and reskilling of maritime technologies professionals. In the 
next  two  years  (2023-2024),  it  will  be  supported  by  the  Erasmus+  funded  project 
FLORES (Forward Looking at the Offshore Renewable Energies). It will involve major 
players in the ORE industrial ecosystem, as well as public authorities at all governance 
levels,  to  foster  dedicated  training  offers  and  promote  careers  in  the  sector.  It  will  also 
develop  an  observatory  of  training  needs  and  offers  for  the  ORE  sector.  Moreover,  the 
Erasmus+  funded  Centre  of  Vocational  Excellence  “Technical  Skills  for  Harmonised 
Offshore  Renewable  Energy”  (T-shore)  aims  to  develop  training  programmes  and 
resources to provide workers with the skills and competencies they need to succeed in the 
offshore wind industry.  

To  further  underpin  skilling  for  the  clean-tech  transition,  the  Net-Zero  Industry  Act 
proposal  tasks  the  Commission  to  support  the  establishment  of  European  Net-Zero 
Industry Academies. The Academies would aim to enable the training and education of 
100.000  learners  each,  within  three  years  of  their  establishment,  to  contribute  to  the 
availability  of  skills  required  for  the  net-zero  technologies,  including  in  small  and 
medium-sized enterprises. To ensure skills transparency and portability and the mobility 
of  workers,  the  Academies  will  develop  and  deploy  credentials,  including  micro-
credentials, covering learning achievements. 

4.  CONCLUSIONS 

Since the Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy was adopted in November 2020, the war 
in  Ukraine  and  the  ensuing  REPowerEU  plan  has  underscored  the  importance  of 
accelerating  the  roll-out  of  offshore  renewable  energies.  The  strategy  has  been 
instrumental  in  driving  forward  changes  in  many  areas,  including  changes  in  the  legal 
framework, such as the revised TEN-E Regulation and the revised RED. New offshore 
objectives, as put forward by Member States, are more ambitious and require swift 
action  at  national  and  regional  level  building  on  the  progress  made  so  far.  The  wind 
power  action  plan,  adopted  together  with  this  communication,  sets  out  a  number  of 
actions  that  can  help  accelerate  the  deployment  of  wind  energy  in  particular  and 
strengthen the European wind industry. 

The  achievements  so  far  and  the  challenges  ahead  underline  the  need  to  further 
strengthen regional co-operation to accelerate the development of cross-border energy 
infrastructure, in particular the development of offshore grids and cross-border renewable 
energy  projects  as  well  as  regional  MSPs.  The  Commission  will  work  closely  with 
Member  States  and  all  relevant  stakeholders  to  implement  the  identified  actions  to 
advance concrete offshore renewable energy projects to deliver on the bold ambitions. 

49 Council Recommendation 2022/C 243/02 

19 

 
 
 
On the international  scale, the Commission  will  continue  to  engage  with  international 
organisations,  such  as  the  IEA  and  IRENA,  and  partner  with  countries  that  are  key 
players  in  the  energy  field  to  realise  world-wide  offshore  renewable  energy  aspirations 
including through the Global Gateway initiative. 

The  Commission  considers  that  reinforced  cooperation  with  Member  States  on  the 
implementation  of  the  existing  legal  framework  as  well  as  fostering  agreement  on 
proposed  new  legislation  as  described  in  this  Communication  will  enable  a  timely 
delivery  on  the  offshore  renewable  energy  ambition  in  a  sustainable  manner.  This  will 
require a persistent and unrelenting effort by all stakeholders. 

20