European countries pledge huge expansion of North Sea wind farms

Wind turbines off the North Yorkshire coast. The targets represent a further doubling of capacity goals announced in May 2022. Photograph: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

Nine European countries have pledged to multiply the capacity of offshore wind farms in the North Sea by eight times current levels before 2050, turning it into what Belgium’s energy minister called “Europe’s biggest green power plant”.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the plan with the prime ministers of Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark and Luxembourg.