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. 

NSR countries

  • 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.

MSP

  • 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.  

Future energy industry trends

  •  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.