Posted on June 22, 2026
By Amanda Dasch, Chief Development Officer & Group Executive at Ørsted.
Every time a geopolitical crisis erupts, Europe is reminded of an uncomfortable reality: we still don’t have control over our own energy future.
Recent events in the Middle East have placed energy costs and supply in the spotlight. And yet, for something that’s so central to how we live our lives, public perceptions fall wide of the mark.
More than a third of people surveyed in key European offshore wind markets believed their country was self-sufficient in terms of energy.
The reality? No single country in the EU is energy independent.
The EU imports 57 % of its energy and spends around EUR 400 billion on energy imports each year.
This is a problem for Europe’s resilience and security, and its competitiveness. It’s also a problem if Europe wants to build sustained support for the investment and policy choices needed to address its dependence on imported energy.
The solution is already here
The good news is that Europe already has a solution. The technologies needed to strengthen energy security already exist, and increasingly they are the most economically attractive options available. Wind and solar are already cheaper than fossil fuels when it comes to new-build generation. Even when you factor in grids, storage and other integration costs, supply chain build-out and financing, the total costs of a renewables-based system are still expected to be cheaper than the one we rely on today.
The analysis in our recent paper shows that a renewables-based electricity system, with offshore wind as a core component, can reduce total European electricity system costs by up to 30 % by 2040. This is not simply an environmental opportunity. It’s an economic one. Lower system costs translate into lower energy bills, stronger industrial competitiveness, and greater economic resilience.
In today’s world, energy independence is industrial policy, security policy, and economic policy rolled into one.
Why offshore wind matters so much
Europe will require a diverse mix of renewable technologies to meet its future energy demands. Among these, offshore wind has a particularly critical role to play. Offshore wind is more than just another renewable technology – it represents one of Europe’s most significant opportunities to build large scale, domestic energy production at the speed and scale needed to strengthen competitiveness and reduce external dependencies. It offers strong and consistent output, supports large-scale deployment, and delivers a more stable production profile than many other renewable sources. Deployed alongside solar and onshore wind, offshore wind plays a central role in creating a balanced, reliable, and cost-effective energy system.
Offshore wind can deliver home-grown energy at a time when energy independence is becoming increasingly critical. And it can do that while cutting the energy import bill by around EUR 80 billion per year by 2040, and annual carbon emissions by around 20 % compared with 2023 levels.
A turning point for Europe’s energy system
The beginning of 2026 was a turning point for offshore wind in Europe.
Nine European governments came together with system operators and industry to sign the Joint Offshore Wind Investment Pact for the North Seas.
The agreement created a pathway to 300 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2050, promising a consistent and coordinated build-out of up to 15 GW per year. It also backed a sounder investment framework through measures including two-sided ‘Contracts for Difference’, which provide mitigation against volatile electricity prices both for society and renewable developers.
Not long after, Denmark and Germany announced the Bornholm Energy Island, an offshore transmission hub that will collect 3 GW of green electricity from surrounding offshore wind farms and distribute it to Denmark and Germany. This is the first time two countries have cooperated on a financing structure for energy distribution from the same source.
These agreements matter because they represent long-term coordination across borders. Energy security is no longer purely a national challenge. It is a European one.
The challenge now is delivery
These were giant steps forward for Europe’s energy future – for regional cooperation, and a shared grid for Europe.
The question now is simple: can Europe follow through on the framework it has started to put in place?
The focus now needs to shift to delivery. This requires a coordinated action plan supported by grid investment, faster electrification, regulatory stability, and clear line of site to a stronger, more competitive European offshore wind supply chain.
It also requires closer collaboration between industry and governments to improve public understanding of our energy system, so that perceptions align with the facts, and the sense of urgency reflects the scale of the challenge.
These are the conditions that will determine whether Europe can turn ambition into action, unlocking de-risked investment and driving down costs over time.
We have the tools. Now let’s turn bystanders into supporters, plans into action, and commitments into wind farms.
