Floating offshore wind is being explored as part of many national-level decarbonization policies, given its potential for deployment at harder-to-reach locations than those used for bottom-fixed offshore wind. Rapid expansion into floating offshore wind raises several important legal questions surrounding competition over space between involved actors, as well as questions around financing, physical feasibility and responsibility with respect to grid connections. Although country-level regulation assessments on deployment feasibility have been conducted in the past, little is known about the efficiency — whether social benefits of a regulation outweigh the costs — of different state-level regulation when it comes to addressing spatial competition, financing and grid-connection responsibilities. Now, Magnus N. Ryenbakken from the law firm CLP, in Norway, and Ceciel T. Nieuwenhout from University of Groningen compare regulation in Norway, France and the United Kingdom — three countries with stakes in offshore wind development in northern Europe.
The researchers describe the regulatory approach of the three countries and then comparatively analyse these approaches according to the aforementioned barrier types, drawing from a range of qualitative regulatory sources including energy codes and acts. The team find that each country has a different regulatory framework that comes with unique benefits and downsides. However, in general, a more holistic and market-based approach could be preferable for more efficient floating offshore wind projects connected to an onshore grid. The researchers also conclude that distributional (multi-stage, multi-actor) projects would benefit from market-based allocation of financial support with more tailored regulation. Country-specific recommendations are also provided. Understanding the efficiency of regulation at the country level with respect to primary barriers has implications for how quickly we might expect countries to develop their offshore floating wind potential.
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