Harnessing the Energy Potential of the North Sea: A European Model for Scaling and Protecting Renewables

The North Sea Summit was held in Hamburg, bringing together heads of state and government of the coastal countries, energy ministers, and representatives of industry to discuss the accelerated development of offshore wind energy and the protection of critical energy infrastructure.

German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that the North Sea should become “the world’s largest reservoir of clean energy,” setting the tone for the third summit held in this format. The participating countries confirmed their intention to significantly expand offshore wind generation through deeper regional cooperation.

The core objective of the summit is to make the expansion of offshore wind energy more efficient and economically viable by means of cross-border planning, joint financing of offshore wind farms, and coordinated development of interconnected energy grids. This approach is intended to strengthen Europe’s energy independence while contributing to lower electricity costs for consumers.

A separate and increasingly important focus of the discussions concerned security. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine, Europe has seen a rise in hybrid attacks targeting critical energy infrastructure, both on land and at sea. In response, North Sea states are placing greater emphasis on the joint protection of offshore wind installations, subsea cables, and transmission hubs, treating security as an integral part of energy policy rather than a separate domain.

IDR Commentary

Experts of the Institute of Danube Research underline that the North Sea approach illustrates a shift from fragmented renewable energy projects toward a regional energy ecosystem that integrates generation, grids, investment frameworks, and security mechanisms.

For Ukraine, and particularly for the country’s southern regions and the Danube area, this experience is highly relevant. The combination of cross-border spatial planning, shared infrastructure financing, and coordinated grid development can serve as a practical model for the post-war development of wind, solar, and hybrid energy projects in Southern Ukraine and the wider Danube macro-region.

Equally important is the strong emphasis on protecting critical energy infrastructure. In the Danube region—where energy, logistics, and water corridors intersect—security considerations must be embedded into energy transition strategies from the outset. The North Sea experience demonstrates that under current geopolitical conditions, the energy transition cannot be sustainable without parallel investments in resilience, protection, and interstate coordination—elements that will be crucial for shaping the future energy architecture of Southern Ukraine and the Danube region.