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Baltic Sea countries to increase wind power sevenfold by 2030

Countries bordering the Baltic Sea have agreed to increase offshore wind capacity sevenfold by 2030 to 20 gigawatts, aiming to reduce dependence on Russian energy, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced today at an energy summit in Copenhagen.

Baltic Sea countries have agreed to sevenfold their offshore wind capacity by 2030, to 20 gigawatts, to wean themselves off Russian oil and gas, said Mette Frederiksen, who organized the meeting in Copenhagen, which was also attended by Germany, the Poland, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

“We have agreed to increase wind power in the Baltic Sea sevenfold by 2030,” the Danish prime minister said. “We are on the front line of European energy security,” he said. “In this war, Putin is using energy as a weapon and has brought Europe, as we all know, to the brink of an energy crisis with energy prices soaring.”

These 20 gigawatts, expected according to Copenhagen to supply electricity to at least 20 million households, “is more than the current offshore wind capacity in the whole of the EU”, stressed Frederiksen.

By 2050 wind capacity in the Baltic Sea can increase to 93 gigawatts, according to the statement issued after the summit.

“Putin’s attempt to blackmail us with fossil fuels is failing. We will speed up the green transition. We will get rid of dependence on Russian fossil fuels,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, expressing her satisfaction.

The Commission said in March it wanted to cut Russian gas purchases by two-thirds from this year and completely before 2030. Brussels then proposed raising its target for the share of renewables in the energy mix by 2030, the which could increase from 40% to 45%.

In terms of climate, the EU aims for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 55% by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.

On Monday, Denmark announced it would increase from 2 to 3 gigawatts its wind capacity off the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and connect that output to the German grid.

In May, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium announced a similar agreement to install almost 150 gigawatts of offshore wind power in the North Sea by 2050, making the area Europe’s “green powerhouse”.

Source: AMPE

Source: Capital

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