The UK has signed a memorandum of understanding to work closer with the members of the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) to develop offshore wind energy.

The co-operation agreement, which was signed on behalf of the UK by Graham Stuart MP, Minister of State for Energy and Climate in Brussels last Sunday, aims to facilitate the planning and development of specific offshore renewable projects, including offshore grids.

The NSEC is a non-binding co-operation agreement between Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the European Commission, which aims to encourage the development of offshore renewable energy in the north seas, including the Irish and Celtic Seas.

At an NSEC meeting in Dublin last September, the NSEC countries agreed to a target of at least 260GW of offshore wind energy by 2050, which represents more than 85% of the EU-wide ambition of reaching at least 300GW by 2050.