Germany, Denmark and Sweden will cooperate more closely in wind energy deployment in the North and Baltic Seas. To this end, Michael Müller, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Environment Ministry, Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard and Swedish Minister for Enterprise and Energy Maud Olofsson signed a declaration on the occasion of the European Offshore Wind Conference in Berlin. Cooperation between the three countries will cover the areas of accompanying environmental and technology research.
The collaboration facilitates an increased exchange of information on the environmental impacts of offshore wind parks. In particular, German scientists will have the opportunity to carry out research projects in existing Danish wind parks and thus fill gaps in knowledge. Germany and Denmark have already been cooperating in accompanying environmental research since 2005.
State Secretary Michael Müller commented: "We all agree that the expansion of offshore wind energy is very important and highly necessary from an energy and climate point of view. In this, we want to guarantee the sustainable use of offshore wind energy and make sure that expansion does not take place at the cost of nature off our coasts." Müller invited further countries to join in the cooperation.
The share of renewable energies in electricity production will increase considerably through offshore wind parks. Up to 25,000 megawatts of installed capacity from offshore wind energy in German marine areas could be achieved by 2025/2030.
Further Information:
- Joint Declaration on Cooperation in the Field of Research on Offshore Wind Energy Deployment
- www.eow2007.info: European offshore wind conference