Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Offshore Wind in the European Union:Towards Integrated Management of Our Marine Waters (Energy and Environmental Law & Policy Series Supranational and Comparative Aspects, 28)

As part of the climate and energy package adopted in 2009, the European Union has committed to a 20% share of renewable energy in EUs gross final consumption of energy by 2020, and it has become clear that offshore wind farms offer one of the most promising means of achieving this goal. Although the technology has been well developed and proven feasible, and offshore wind has already become a significant resource in several Member States, challenges to the development of an integrated EU legal framework for offshore wind and grid interconnections remain, among them the lack of coordinated offshore planning, differences in permitting and licensing procedures, and conflict in the use of sea space. This important book places the framework for offshore wind and grid interconnections within a wider context and discusses the impact of technological issues, economic issues, spatial issues, and market issues on the legal framework. Analysing how the objectives laid down in environmental instruments can collide with the fast development of offshore wind farms and grid interconnections, the author discusses ways in which the current framework could move towards a more fully integrated system. She also describes existing approaches to the management of seas and oceans, with examples of their implementation in the EUs Integrated Maritime Policy, as well as the ocean policies in Australia and New Zealand. Among the issues and topics covered are the following: 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. The presentation also includes in-depth discussion 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. As a major new contribution to a debate within the European Union on the importance of maritime spatial planning and the rational use of sea space, not only for offshore wind and grid interconnections but for all marine and maritime resources, this book 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 Unions 2020 renewable energy goals. About the Author Katelijn Van Hende is currently a lecturer at the School of Energy and Resources, University College Londons overseas campus in Australia, where she coordinates the courses International Policy and Geopolitics of Energy and Resources and Law for Energy and Resources and undertakes research within those areas involving industry, government and academia. Katelijn was awarded her PhD titled Towards an Integrated Legal Framework for Offshore Wind Farms and Grid Interconnections in the EU Marine Waters by the Department of Law at Aarhus University, Denmark in February 2014. During her PhD Katelijn was teaching the courses in Renewable Energy Law and Climate Law and has presented at several international conferences. An Australian Endeavour Research Fellowship brought her to Australia in 2012, to undertake comparative research on offshore regulations between the EU, Australia and New Zealand. Katelijn also holds a Master of Laws and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) and has undertaken an Erasmus year at the University of Maastricht, where she specialized in EU and international law.