HAMBURG/BERLIN/LONDON--Britain, Germany, Denmark and other European countries signed a clean energy pact at a North Sea Summit in Hamburg on Monday, pledging to deliver 100 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power capacity through large-scale joint projects.
The agreement, which contrasts sharply with U.S. President Donald Trump's opposition to green energy, signals that Western and Northern European governments remain committed to wind power as a way to boost energy security. At the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, Trump amplified his criticism of Europe's shift to low-carbon energy, saying countries that rely on wind turbines lose money.
"Green energy is not only good for our planet, it strengthens our energy security," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said after signing a bilateral offshore wind agreement with Germany."By investing in offshore wind, we reduce our reliance on imports and we take control of our energy future."
Ending dependence on Russian energy, in particular, has been among Europe's top goals.European Union member states on Monday gave final approval to imposing a ban on Russian gas imports by late 2027, making the break from their former top supplier legally binding, nearly four years after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A new imbalance, however, is clouding the push for energy sovereignty. In 2025, the EU sourced 27% of total gas and LNG imports from the U.S., with which Europe's ties are increasingly strained. New LNG contracts mean this could rise to 40% by 2030, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
The commitment to boost cross-border collaboration is part of a goal agreed by North Sea countries in 2023 to have 300 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2050.Industry lobby WindEurope said that its member companies had pledged to cut costs, to create 91,000 jobs, and to generate 1 trillion euros ($1.2 trillion) of economic activity.
Adding 100 GW at sea would transform Europe's power market because the region currently has 258 GW installed wind capacity, both on- and offshore, providing 19% of the electricity consumed in Europe, according to WindEurope data.This could benefit makers of grid technology such as Siemens Energy and GE Vernova, project developers including RWE and Orsted as well as wind turbine manufacturers such as Vestas.
