The BWO welcomes the preliminary agreement on the EU's Net Zero Industry Act. This law is, among other things, about defining rules for good cooperation with non-European partners.

“We need their help to achieve the European expansion goals for offshore wind. At the same time, we must strengthen the European value chain in order to be able to expand offshore wind and other climate-friendly technologies as planned. The agreement reached is an important step in this regard. Now it’s important to clarify the details in national implementation – in exchange with those who are supposed to use them,” comments BWO managing director Stefan Thimm the agreement.

Hintergrund:

Yesterday in Brussels, EU negotiators tentatively agreed on a Net Zero Industry Act and revised some rules compared to earlier drafts.

Auction rules are particularly relevant for offshore wind energy. In the future, both prequalification and qualitative award criteria should be applied for at least 30 percent of the annual auctioned volume per member state. These non-price-related criteria can include ecological sustainability, the contribution to innovation or the integration of energy systems. The Commission will set these criteria and, depending on how well the system works, consider whether the auction volume needs to be adjusted.

Yesterday's agreement must now be formally confirmed by the EU institutions.