Offshore Wind in the European Union.Towards Integrated Management of our Marine Waters

Energy and Environmental Law and Policy Series Volume 28

Offshore Wind in the European Union. Towards Integrated Management of our Marine Waters provides you with a thorough exploration of the issues behind the planning, permitting and licensing of offshore wind farms and grid interconnections in the European Union marine waters, with a focus on the North and Baltic Seas.

The main aim is to assess whether the current legal framework constitutes an integrated legal framework and you’ll find clear and detailed discussion of this complex area. The author offers expert guidance on suggested improvements that could move the current framework towards a more fully integrated system.

An extensive and invaluable resource, you will gain insights into activity in the field with descriptions of existing approaches to the management of seas and oceans, with examples of their implementation in the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy, as well as the ocean policies in Australia and New Zealand. Also included are in-depth discussions of how economic sectoral interests (i.e., oil and gas extraction, maritime transport routes, cables and pipelines, fishing) affect the strategic development of offshore wind policy. The role of regional sea conventions in the North and Baltic Seas are taken into account, as are the exclusive economic zones defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

How will this help you?

• Stay informed – as a major new contribution to a debate within the European Union on the importance of maritime spatial planning and rational use of sea space, you will be up to date with the latest issues and debates.
• In depth understanding – analysis of how the objectives laid down in environmental instruments can collide with the fast development of offshore wind farms and grid interconnections ensure that you are aware of the possible obstacles in this field.
• Practical – includes examples of existing approaches to the management of seas and oceans and discussion of the economic pressures on offshore wind policy.

Detailed coverage of the following topics:

• weighing the particular economic objectives of different countries;
• principles of conferral, subsidiarity, and proportionality in EU law;
• coherence and consistency;
• competition for sea space;
• the marine environment and its ecosystems;
• environmental impact assessments; and
• special protected areas.

Offshore Wind in the European Union. Towards Integrated Management of our Marine Waters will prove indispensable to lawyers, policymakers, officials, and academics concerned with the management of sea space to include the wind farms necessary to achieve the Union’s 2020 renewable energy goals.