Ten European countries are banding together to create a multinational wind farm across the North Sea.
Euronews reported on the 9.5 billion euros ($11.3 billion) agreement signed by Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom.
The Hamburg Declaration aims to deliver 100 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2050, enough to power approximately 143 million homes. The scope of the agreement goes even further, with 90,000 jobs expected to be added and the mobilization of 1 trillion euros ($1.19 trillion) of capital into the continent.
Maybe most important of all, the agreement is expected to decrease power costs by 30% over the next 15 years. That will allow the countries to advance their independence from Russia's oil and go all in on renewable energy.
"We're standing up for our national interest by driving for clean energy, which can get the U.K. off the fossil fuel roller coaster and give us energy sovereignty and abundance," U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said, per Euronews.
The move also happens in stark contrast to U.S. President Donald Trump's distinct hostility to offshore wind projects and other moves to shutter many forms of clean energy generation, like solar.
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These North Sea nations will now be tied at the hip for energy generation. Offshore wind farms will send energy through multipurpose interconnectors that link multiple nations. With Europe's grid already part of the same network via undersea cables, now a key energy source will follow.
That synergy can cut down on costly infrastructure and lower the burden on nearby communities and the local environment. Countries are also putting in place mechanisms to ensure they won't export energy to foreign countries at the expense of their domestic needs.
The agreement aligns with a global push for clean energy to address climate concerns, which has broad support but has drawn dissent from the U.S. As the world contends with extreme weather conditions and rising global temperatures, transitioning to clean energy can help mitigate the most dangerous impacts.
Europe has been making major progress in this regard, with solar and wind energy last year outproducing oil, coal, and gas for the first time ever. Now, the continent is thinking even bigger with an unprecedented multinational pact.
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"We today went further by signing a clean energy security pact with European allies to ensure we maximize the clean energy potential for the North Sea," Miliband said, per Euronews.
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