The technology to transform these sources of energy into electricity is developing fast and marine renewables could become the main source of energy in the EU by 2050.
Objectives
- The EU aims to have at least 42.5% of renewable energy by 2030.
- The objective for ocean energy is to have at least 1 GW of installed capacity by 2030 and 40 GW by 2050.
Producing electricity from the sea is compatible with the goals of the EU Biodiversity Strategy and can happen in parallel with other activities such as fishing and aquaculture. Implementing the maritime spatial planning directive is essential to anticipate changes, avoid conflicts and find synergies between various activities at sea.
Ocean energy technologies, like wave and tidal converters, are part of the EU's blue economy. They are emerging rapidly and have the potential to provide steady and predictable power output and contribute to reaching the EU’s climate and energy goals.
Actions
- 2023
The European Commission presented 2 initiatives which aim to accelerate wind energy manufacturing and deployment in Europe.
- 2020
The European Commission issued a strategy to harness the potential of offshore renewable energy. This strategy maps out a path to replace fossil fuels by offshore renewables, creating industrial opportunities and green jobs across the continent. The marine renewables industry will need to scale up 5 times by 2030 and 25 times by 2050 to support the Green Deal’s objectives. The European Commission has committed to support the value chain investing in those developments and keeps track of the progress made.
The European Commission facilitates cross-border cooperation and exchange of good practices on the issues of maritime spatial planning and marine renewables, notably via the North Seas Energy Cooperation and the different sea basin strategies.
The main sources of EU funding instruments available for EU countries to support their marine renewables sector are: InvestEU, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Connecting Europe Facility, Horizon Europe and all the structural and regional funds which now have ring-fenced amounts to support the Green Deal objectives.
The European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund supports marine renewable energy projects and spatial planning activities to enable the sector to develop smoothly and in harmony with nature and other sectors.
News
On 3 and 4 July 2024, BlueInvest Africa returned for its second edition, destination Kenya! For two days, the little coastal city of Diani became home to Africa’s vibrant blue economy community. Organised by the European Union in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Kenya,
Today the Commission announced 26 new projects that will receive €126.9 million to contribute to the EU Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters’
The latest edition of the EU Blue Economy Report is out, offering an in-depth analysis of European blue economy sectors and their performances based on the latest available data.