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New Horizons: The Space Needed for Offshore Wind Energy in the EU by 2030 and 2040
This briefing first looks at the space already allocated by the 10 Member States that have made data available in the European Marine Observation and Data Network regarding offshore renewable energy deployment.
For the remaining 12 coastal Member States who have not uploaded their Maritime Spatial Plan data to EMODnet or have yet to finalise them (Croatia, Greece, Italy), this brief also estimates the space they would need to allocate for offshore wind to meet their 2030 and 2040 pledges.
The goal is to assess whether Member States have set aside enough space at sea, outside of MPAs, to deliver on their offshore targets. Further information on the methodology is available in the Technical Annex.
WWF urges policymakers to:
- Review current national Maritime Spatial Plans to better integrate the requirements of the Renewable Energy Directive and nature legislation (Nature Restoration Law, Birds and Habitats Directives, among others). Most of these Plans were developed before 2023 and do not address new climate and biodiversity legislation. By revising their Plans using an ecosystem-based approach, which takes into account the capacity of nature to accommodate human pressures, Member States can ensure new climate and environment targets are well aligned with other economic activities, both spatially and temporally. Ensure that countries that have not yet finalised and submitted their national Maritime Spatial Plans do so in line with the MSP Directive requirements and integrate environmental considerations to establish an EU-wide perspective on the upcoming deployment of offshore wind, alongside all other maritime activities, in all sea basins.
- Ensure that offshore wind deployment is kept out of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in order to preserve nature in these areas. To achieve this, governments should make full use of the areas already designated in their national Maritime Spatial Plans when mapping Renewables Acceleration Areas (RAAs), and avoid MPAs, Natura 2000 sites, or areas of high biodiversity value and their respective buffer zones.
- Incentivise Member States to make full use of the State Aid guidelines for climate, environmental protection and energy, allowing at least 30% of the evaluation score awarded to offshore wind tenders to be based on non-price criteria, especially environmental and social ones. Applying such criteria will increase protection of marine ecosystems and species, and enhance the involvement of local communities.
- Pursue much faster action to cut energy and resource demand, including through higher and nationally-binding targets in the Energy Efficiency Directive. Without such reductions, the phase out of fossil fuels will take much longer and the level of renewable energy supply needed will be much higher, resulting in more pressure on nature and higher costs for our society.
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