An offshore wind union? Diversity and convergence in European offshore wind governance

Abstract

Offshore wind megaprojects in European waters have significant carbon abatement potential and increasing their number is a policy goal for several European maritime nations. But experience has shown that governance of large-scale, commercial offshore wind development is not straightforward. It is found that in five EU Member States, policy innovation intended to enable investment in offshore wind projects is leading to a convergence upon a distinctive European model of offshore wind governance. Notably, the European Union appears to play a relatively small role in this process and further research into how offshore wind policy innovation propagates in the EU is warranted.