An offshore wind union? Diversity and convergence in European offshore wind governance

Abstract

Offshore wind megaprojects in European waters have significant carbon abatement potential and increasing their number is a policy goal for several European maritime nations. But experience has shown that governance of large-scale, commercial offshore wind development is not straightforward. It is found that in five EU member states, policy innovation intended to enable investment in offshore wind projects is leading to a convergence upon a distinctive European model of offshore wind governance. The European Union appears to play numerous roles in this process and further research into how offshore wind policy innovation propagates in the EU is warranted. Policy relevanceThe governance of offshore wind megaproject development places specific demands on several areas of policy. This article firstly provides an account of recent developments in how offshore wind governance functions in some of the most important offshore wind-using nations. Secondly, the discussion of the EU's role in shaping offshore wind governance will inform future debates about the proper role of the EU in enabling investment in these megaprojects. Thirdly, the fact that policy appears to be converging raises questions about how policy is transmitted between EU member states, the answers to which could be valuable to policy makers looking at other areas of energy governance. Finally, the observed trend of increasing centralization of decisionmaking should be of interest to policy makers mindful of the role of scale and decentralization in debates about energy governance.

Marine Renewable Energy in the Mediterranean Sea: Status and Perspectives

“…However, as has been highlighted in [244], existing research on legal and regulatory issues related with MRE is not adequately addressed since the key issues that are involved are also interrelated with several other aspects such as EIAs and consenting processes, rights and ownership, international law, management of ocean space, etc. In [245], a discussion on the policies and governance framework as regards offshore wind in the EU Member States has been presented along with some suggestions as regards the EU role in shaping offshore wind governance while in [246], a review on the consenting processes as regards MRE has been presented for different EU Member States, including France and Spain. Energy prices at the national level may create a favorable or less favorable environment for investments, shaping in this way the organization of the corresponding markets.…”

An overview of offshore wind energy resources in Europe under present and future climate

“…Scientific doctrine and the EC have highlighted the need to streamline these licensing procedures by improving coordination among various agencies involved and reducing the number of consent bodies and authorizations required . Many of these measures have been implemented by leading European countries in offshore wind farm development . In this sense, Denmark and Scotland have adopted a One‐Stop‐Shop system, in which a single authority (the Danish Energy Agency in Denmark and Marine Scotland's Licensing Operations Team in Scotland) processes the main authorizations required to install and operate an offshore wind farm .…”

“…However, ROCs have been replaced by a contracts‐for‐difference system since 2017 in UK. Under this new model, a government‐owned counterpart (a low‐carbon contracting company) guarantees the generator a payment for a certain number of years consisting of the difference between the price agreed upon in the contract (the strike price) and the market price …”

“…With regard to the connection of offshore wind farms to the network, the offshore transmission system operator (TSO) model, under which the TSOs are obliged to provide grid connections, but the owner of each offshore wind farm is responsible for connecting it to the offshore transmission system, appears to be the most widespread mechanism implemented in Europe (e.g., in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands) . However, other countries, such as UK, follow a third party model, in which a third party—the offshore transmission owner, selected after a competitive tender—is responsible for connecting the offshore wind farm to the onshore system . The costs of constructing and operating the connection to the onshore network can be recovered by charging these costs directly to the owner of the connected offshore wind farm (as in UK) or through a TSO levy payable by all users (as in Denmark and Germany) …”

“…137 Many of these measures have been implemented by leading European countries in offshore wind farm development. 138 In this sense, Denmark and Scotland have adopted a One-Stop-Shop system, in which a single authority (the Danish Energy Agency in Denmark and Marine Scotland's Licensing Operations Team in Scotland) processes the main authorizations required to install and operate an offshore wind farm. 139,140 Likewise, England has reduced the number of consent bodies and licenses required to install offshore wind farms, resulting in a significant simplification and reduction of the processing time needed to obtain relevant authorizations.…”