Britain, Germany, Denmark and other European countries will sign a clean energy pact at a summit in Hamburg, pledging to deliver 100 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power through large-scale joint projects, the British government said.
The agreement comes days after US President Donald Trump stepped up criticism of green energy, and signals that Western and Northern European governments remain committed to wind power as a way to boost the region's energy security, reported Reuters.
"We are standing
up for our national interest by driving for clean energy, which can get the UK
off the fossil fuel rollercoaster and give us energy sovereignty and
abundance," British energy minister Ed Miliband said in a statement.
North Sea countries
agreed in 2023 to a broader goal of 300 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2050.
That followed Russia's
invasion of Ukraine, which sharpened fears about Europe's dependency on
Russian gas.
The deal, a draft of
which was reported by Reuters last week, will be signed at the North
Sea Summit by Britain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway.
"By planning
expansion, grids and industry together and implementing them across borders, we
are creating clean and affordable energy, strengthening our industrial base and
increasing Europe's strategic sovereignty," said German Economy Minister
Katherina Reiche.
Britain said it would
also sign other agreements with smaller groups of attending nations to promote
more efficient development of cross-border projects, and infrastructure to
create wind farms at sea that are directly connected to more than one country.
Earlier in January, Britain secured a record amount of offshore wind capacity in its latest power auction, when projects with a total capacity of 8.4 GW were awarded contracts.