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North Seas region countries agree on closer energy cooperation

Xinhua, June 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Nine North Seas region countries agreed on Monday in Luxembourg to further strengthen their energy cooperation.

A political declaration and action plan was signed between the European Commission and Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden on the sidelines of a meeting of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council of the EU.

Energy cooperation between the countries will focus on four main areas.

The first area, according to the cooperative documents, is spatial planning to optimize the use of limited space in the intensively used North Sea. This will include data sharing, finding common approaches to environmental impacts, and the coordination of permitting procedures.

The second focus is on the electricity grid, which has to be developed so it is able to accommodate large scale offshore wind energy. The regional work in this field will include coordinated grid planning and development, but also exploring potential synergies with the offshore oil and gas sectors.

The third priority will be participating countries sharing information about their individual offshore infrastructure needs. This will help plan the investments as well as align support schemes and mobilize investment capital for joint projects.

Fourthly, the participating countries will work towards mutual recognition of national standards.

"Reinforcing regional cooperation will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance security of supply in the region. These are key objectives of the Energy Union," said the European Commission in a press release.

European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said the declaration was an important step towards creating an energy union. Close regional cooperation and pooling energy sources would be essential to unlocking the full potential of North Sea resources at the lowest cost.

Previous Commission studies have shown the potential for up to 5.1 billion euros (5.8 billion U.S. dollars) worth of savings if there were a coordinated approach to offshore grid development.

The cooperative initiative remains open to the participation of all countries with an interest in the North Seas. Endit