Collaboration will strengthen North Sea power

The North Sea is the world's largest offshore wind basin, with 30 GW of capacity across 101 operational wind farms. While the region leads in deployment, the report highlights that supply chain challenges and fragmented regulatory frameworks hinder further progress. It advocates for the standardisation of component sizes and the deployment of hybrid offshore assets to create a more secure, meshed grid. Additionally, the report emphasizes that the North Sea's potential as a 'green power plant' for Europe depends on the electrification of non-power sectors, as half of Europe's industrial energy consumption is located in North Sea bordering countries. Finally, it notes that offshore wind is helping stabilise electricity prices through Contracts-for-Difference (CfD) mechanisms, with recent projects delivering competitive strike prices compared to average European day-ahead power prices.

• The North Sea is the global leader in offshore wind capacity, featuring 101 operational wind farms totaling 30 GW. This capacity is distributed across six countries: the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Norway.
• Recent growth in the North Sea includes 1.6 GW added in 2025 from three sites (Moray West and Neart Na Goithe in the UK, and Goode in Germany). There are currently 7 GW under construction, including Dogger Bank, which will be the world's largest site at 3.6 GW upon completion.
• The UK government awarded 8.4 GW of new offshore wind projects with Contracts-for-Difference subsidies on 14 January 2025, with 7.5 GW specifically located in the North Sea. This brings the UK's total installed, under construction, or contracted capacity in the region to 32 GW.
• European offshore wind supply chains face challenges from inflationary price increases and inconsistent turbine sizes. The report suggests that standardising component sizes and orders across the European supply chain could reduce costs and support factories with consistent orders.
• Cross-border electricity infrastructure in the North Sea includes 7 GW of offshore interconnectors. While hybrid assets (combining generation and transmission) are planned, none are expected to be operational before 2032 due to fragmented regulatory frameworks and unclear cost-sharing.
• The North Sea region is critical for European industrial electrification, as it contains half of all industrial energy consumption in Europe. However, electrification of non-power sectors remains slow, with only 1% of light transport currently electrified.
• Offshore wind is stabilising electricity prices via Contracts for Difference (CfD). Eight farms commissioned since 2023 have an average strike price of €75 per MWh, and those scheduled for 2026-2032 average €90 per MWh, which is competitive with the 2025 European average day-ahead power price of €85 per MWh.

APA

Rosslowe, C., & Mayo, F. (2025). Collaboration will strengthen North Sea power. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/01/North-Sea-Short-Analysis-report-1.pdf

Chicago

Rosslowe, Chris, and Frankie Mayo. Collaboration will strengthen North Sea power. Ember, 2025. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/01/North-Sea-Short-Analysis-report-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rosslowe |first1=Chris |last2=Mayo |first2=Frankie |title=Collaboration will strengthen North Sea power |publisher=Ember |date=15 January 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/01/North-Sea-Short-Analysis-report-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rosslowe2025collaboration, author = {Rosslowe, Chris and Mayo, Frankie}, title = {{Collaboration will strengthen North Sea power}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/01/North-Sea-Short-Analysis-report-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }