INTRODUCTION

The European Union has established very ambitious climate goals. The ultimate aim is to be carbon neutral and energy independent in 2050. In order to achieve this goal, all Member States have been required to submit to the European Commission their national energy and climate plans (NECP) and once approved, Member States need to meet the goals they have set themselves. When drafting these NECPs, Member States will make use of the resources and instruments that are available to them. Whereas hydropower will be an obvious choice in mountainous areas, this is obviously not the case in most countries bordering the North Sea. These countries will make use of other renewable sources like solar and wind. As wind speeds are higher in the North Sea and public opposition offshore is mostly absent, North Sea states are focussing on developing offshore wind and other renewable energy sources. However, production and transport of renewable energy sources at sea is a relevant new development. Whereas a legal framework governing oil and gas exploration and production onshore as well as offshore has been in place since the 1970s, such framework is relatively new with regard to production of renewable electricity offshore. Moreover, each coastal state has been drafting such framework individually in the absence of a harmonising EU law. Consequently, each coastal state has drafted its own permitting regime for the development of offshore wind energy and park-to-shore cables, which means that electricity has been transported to shore via ‘national’ electricity cables with either an offshore or onshore connection to the electricity transmission system.