Recommendations

Energy and grid

Establish a dedicated transnational regulatory framework for offshore grid.
Identify current and future areas of large energy generation offshore and energy demand onshore and match them up.
Designate a well-defined and centralised responsibility for developing post 2020 offshore grid.
Ensure any new cables are effectively buried or protected and the locations are accurately recorded on navigational charts.

Maintain continued pledge to the Political Declaration on energy cooperation in North Sea countries.
Prioritise the development of interconnections with those neighbours that are below any of the thresholds (e.g. UK and Germany) in a spirit of solidarity and cooperation.

Develop a Spatial Offshore Grid Plan which takes into account energy and climate change targets, current and future energy industry trends, spatial planning principles and criteria and integrates cable corridors and gates.
Facilitate stakeholder involvement in offshore grid planning and consult a wide range of relevant stakeholders in the marine planning and licensing process at an early stage.
Designate cable corridors in areas of least constraint, especially in congested near shore areas.
Identify new areas for landfall points.
Identify viable grid connection points and terrestrial sites for land-based converter stations early on in the planning process to enable cable efficient routing.
Connect terrestrial land planning to MSP when it comes to offshore wind farms, grid development, onshore converter stations and land fall points.
Consider optimal expansion of offshore grid from a transnational perspective rather than at a national level.
Facilitate more transnational coordination and cooperation in offshore grid planning between all North Sea countries.
Consider geographical locations of offshore energy generation, in particular floating or deep water offshore wind farms, in relation to onshore grid connection points.
Consider grid connectivity when planning areas for wave and tidal energy developments and support their needs.

Encourage and support more transnational grid configurations such as the integrated approach.
Continue to decommission old and unused cables and pipelines where environmentally feasible to avoid spatial conflicts with other marine users.
Explore and invest in Carbon Capture and Storage opportunities in decommissioned pipelines.