Overview of recent developments in EU law on offshore wind 

SEAS fellow Leila Neimane, based at the Faculty of Law, UiB, focuses on the legal and regulatory aspects of maritime spatial planning (MSP) for offshore wind (OW) energy in the Baltic and North Seas. At the recent Science Meets Industry conference in Bergen, she presented her talk “Licensing processes for offshore wind – a European perspective.” 

There is significant potential for OW farms across Europe, but market maturity varies widely. Countries can be grouped into three categories: 

• Immature markets – Lacking an OW strategy (including production targets). Lacking specific OW tendering and/or permitting procedure 

• Transitioning markets – OW strategy in introductory phase. Tendering and/or permitting procedure being introduced, but not yet tested and perhaps not fully implemented into national laws 

• Mature markets – Have established OW strategies and tendering and permitting procedures 

The Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), as revised in 2023, sets ambitious targets to increase EU renewable energy use and fosters cooperation among Member States.  

Neimane’s talk explored how evolving EU law is reshaping OW licensing and auction systems, linking large-scale capacity goals for 2030–2050 to actual project developments in the North and Baltic Seas. To illustrate the uneven maturity of national markets, she highlighted the policy context and shared snapshots such as EU targets, the 4C Offshore project map, and WindEurope’s latest statistics. 

A key point was Germany’s success: incorporating the concept of “overriding public interest” into legislation and ensuring its application in courts has been pivotal in accelerating OW deployment. This example underscores how critical legal frameworks are for achieving renewable energy goals.