Discussions on offshore wind in the Baltic Sea focus on infrastructure development and security
Ministers of Energy from eight countries around the Baltic Sea, i.e. Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Latvia, have endorsed the Vilnius Declaration on Offshore Wind Development in the Baltic Sea. It commits to phase out fossil fuels, especially from Russia, further develop offshore wind energy, promote regional cooperation with a focus on offshore energy infrastructure interconnections, and increase the resilience of critical energy infrastructure to cyber and physical threats.
The High-Level Baltic Sea Energy Meeting in Vilnius has been attended by the ministers from Estonia, Latvia, Finland and Belgium, as well as high-level officials delegated by the ministers from Denmark, Poland, Sweden and Germany, NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Innovation, Hybrid and Cyber, officials from the EC Directorate for Energy, transmission system operators of all eight countries around the Baltic Sea, and offshore wind energy developers.
The meeting discussed how to harness the potential of approximately 90 GW of offshore wind power at the Baltic Sea to boost Europe’s economic growth in the coming decades. As countries move towards climate-neutral energy sources and away from fossil fuels, electricity will become a major source of energy, fundamentally changing the way energy is produced, transmitted and used. This context opens up entirely new opportunities for offshore projects in the North and Baltic Seas.
In order to fully exploit the potential of wind energy in the Baltic Sea, Minister of Energy Dainius Kreivys has called for finding the most economically viable and advantageous means: “First, we need energy infrastructure and balancing measures to allow the free movement of offshore wind energy across Europe. Second, we need long-term comprehensive strategic planning that includes mutually agreed long-term plans for the development of electricity, gas and hydrogen infrastructure across Europe.” The minister also stressed the importance of clearly defining each country’s role in the overall scheme, coordinating national strategy papers and implementation plans and ensuring smooth implementation when developing international infrastructure.
The discussions focused on issues related to the security of offshore energy infrastructure, such as the geopolitical situation, security of supply, border cooperation, ensuring strategic reserves and emergency response mechanisms. The participants also discussed the development of energy infrastructure projects in the Baltic Sea Region and explored possible ways to connect them through port expansion and strengthening, the creation of energy islands, hydrogen production and transmission, and the use of liquefied natural gas infrastructure.
Mr Kreivys pointed out that a prerequisite for fully exploiting the wind energy potential of the Baltic Sea is the complete elimination of energy imports from Russia, and invited countries to follow Lithuania’s example by completely eliminating imports of Russian gas, oil and electricity. In two years, the volume of Russian gas imported via pipelines into the EU has fallen from around 150 billion cubic metres to 44 billion cubic metres, but imports of Russian liquefied natural gas have risen from around 13 billion cubic metres to 19 billion cubic metres. “The EU LNG infrastructure should diversify gas import routes and enable the EU to stop importing Russian gas, not the other way around,” said Mr Kreivys.
The participants also discussed the safety of offshore wind energy infrastructure. Mr Kreivys underlined that ensuring security of supply is a critical issue, as energy supply becomes a key element of physical and economic survival in the event of war.
DECLARATION of Energy Ministers.
Last updated: 25-04-2024
Related news:
Long-term Klaipėda LNG terminal capacities allocated
KN Energies’ CO₂ transshipment terminal recognised as a project of national importance
Baltic Cooperation on Energy Security: Addressing Emerging Hybrid Threats
Lithuania’s Energy Minister in Kyiv: Ukraine’s Energy Security Means Europe’s Security