Europe bets big on wind
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Europe bets big on wind power. Live from the UK, this is the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service. I'm Guy Kilty. Good morning. A group of European countries has signed a clean energy pact today, committing to build an offshore wind power grid in the North Sea. Ten countries, including the UK, France, Germany and Norway, will create wind farms designed to provide power to millions of homes across Europe. It's in contrast to the US, where President Trump has been vocal in his opposition to wind power. Justin Roller is the BBC's climate editor. Hi, Justin. Hi there.
What is the significance of the clean energy pact among European countries?
So just run us through exactly what's been agreed and who's agreed it.
So the signing was at a future of the North Sea summit in the German city of Hamburg and 10 energy ministers from European countries agreed to deliver by 2050 300 gigawatts of power. When you think that about 14 gigawatts of power is is enough to power 10 million European homes. You realise this is an absolutely extraordinary commitment to renewable power. The initial agreement was actually signed three years ago. This declaration will put the kind of flesh on the bones. And really interestingly, one of the initiatives that they want to introduce is they want the wind farms to be connected to multiple countries so that the electricity can be directed to whichever country needs it most. And they say this will smooth peaks in demand and also should reduce prices across the continent.
A big commitment, as you say, but there's not exactly consensus around the world around wind power at the moment, as we heard in Davos last week.
We did. We saw the American president railing once again, tilting once again against what he describes as windmills. And there's been some discomfort within Europe about the ability to sell electricity to multiple countries. There was an issue in Norway where there was a feeling that power generated in Norway, which could be used in Norway, was being sold off to other countries where higher prices could be achieved and therefore cheaper. pushing up prices in Norway. And in fact, they were going to put another interconnector between Norway and Scotland, and the Norwegian government decided not to go ahead with it. So these things can be controversial. But obviously, the more power you've got, the more flexibility to sell it overall across the continent should result.
in lower prices. At least that's what energy economists, the UK National Grid, the UK government says. So there are definitely positives. But yeah, I mean, there is a certain controversy around the creation of energy through these huge offshore wind farms. Justin, many thanks for joining us. Pleasure to be on Marketplace again.
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How will the offshore wind power grid impact energy supply in Europe?
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