Belgium has officially joined the Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA) alongside eight other countries. The international alliance aims to become "the OPEC for the offshore wind industry".
The alliance was initiated by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Denmark and the Global Wind Energy Council. Belgium's membership was ratified on Tuesday during an event at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt's Sharm-el-Sheikh.
The other member nations are Colombia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. Together they pledge to rapidly ramp up offshore wind in order to tackle the climate and energy security crises.
As part of the GOWA, the governments committed to having the capacity to produce at least 380 gigawatts of offshore wind power by the end of 2030; the current capacity is just 60 gigawatts. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), offshore wind capacity will need to exceed 2,000 GW in 2050 to limit the rise in global temperatures.
Belgian expertise
With its membership, Belgium wants to share knowledge and expertise with other countries t0 drive the energy transition.
“Belgium has been one of the frontrunners in offshore wind and is accelerating the energy transition by quadrupling its offshore wind capacity by 2040 in the Belgian North Sea, building a hybrid energy island and new interconnections with North Sea countries," said Federal Energy Minister, Tinne Van der Straeten.
Wind turbine up close. Credit: Belga/ Kurt Desplenter
Earlier this year, Belgium announced it will join forces with Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands to create the North Sea's largest sustainable energy plant in a bid to cut dependence on Russian energy.
"We can replace gas and oil faster with offshore wind and green hydrogen. That way we will foster energy independence, lower household and industry bills and reduce CO2 emissions," Van der Straeten added.
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The alliance also involves the private sector, international organisations and other stakeholders.
