Timed to the adoption of the Commission’s new offshore renewables strategy, the latest Euronews OCEAN episode focuses on marine renewable energy.
The world leader in offshore renewable energy production, Europe accelerates development of this sector which can become its largest source of power over the coming decades, providing more than 25% of EU energy by 2050. Achieving that goal would require increasing the offshore wind capacity 5-fold by 2030, and 20-fold by 2050 compared to what we have today. This is a major opportunity for the blue economy: to deliver and keep industrial leadership, manufacturing capacity would need to grow, and ports will need to upgrade their infrastructure, transitioning from declining sectors like fishing to the booming offshore renewables, with spillover effects in coastal regions and beyond.
In this episode, we’ll show a new offshore wind farm nearing completion. We’ll visit the new heavy-weight terminal at the port of Ostend in Belgium where wind turbines are pre-assembled by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. We’ll see a prototype of an innovative energy-producing pontoon developed to desalinate sea water using wind and solar energy — a EU-funded technology that can save lives in marine emergencies. Finally, we’ll visit the GE Renewable Energy’s LM Wind Power wind turbine blade factory in Cherbourg, France: the factory producing the world’s largest offshore wind turbine blades is expected to double the number of employees by early next year, addressing industry demand and bringing new skills to Normandy’s workforce.
Tune in to Euronews from 24 November @ 20:50 CET – on any platform.
OCEAN is a Euronews magazine in collaboration with the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MARE). Season 2 features monthly 8-minute videos where we highlight fascinating projects and developments related to the ocean and coastal communities.
The first season featured episodes on marine protected areas, small-scale fisheries, ocean energy, aquaculture, IUU fishing, sustainable fisheries and more. Missed one? Check them out on Euronews website! You will also find some nice extras about these topics.
Feel free to share on social media, tagging @EU_MARE and @euronews and using the hashtag #oceanEU.
More information
Prejss release: Boosting Offshore Renewable Energy for a Climate Neutral Europe
Euronews Ocean: What will the future of energy in Europe look like?
Details
- Publication date
- 24 November 2020
- Author
- Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries