9 European Union nations pledge to turn the Mediterranean into a green energy hub

LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) — Officials from nine southern European Union member countries said Monday they’re focused on harnessing offshore wind and solar energy to try to turn the Mediterranean region into a renewable energy hub and stave off the risks of climate change.

The energy ministers of Cyprus, Slovenia and Malta, Croatia’s economy minister as well as officials from Greece, Italy, France, Portugal and Spain said in a joint statement that they’re working on setting up joint renewable energy projects across borders without the red tape that could potentially repel investors.

George Papanastasiou, energy minister of host Cyprus, told reporters that so-called MED9 countries are looking at ways of generating green energy from offshore platforms because of the growing scarcity of land in Mediterranean countries on which to build such projects.

Papanastasiou said that some countries have already undertaken offshore wind energy pilot projects in shallow waters, whose results will be studied by fellow MED9 nations to tailor their own facilities. There are also plans for wave-generated energy and floating photovoltaic units since there’s greater capacity in southern Europe for such technologies owing to abundant sunlight.

Greece’s ambassador to Cyprus, Ioannis Papameletiou, said that the Aegean has among the highest wind power capacities in the EU, noting that there is “great room for cooperation and exchange of best practices.”

He said that Greece has set a target of introducing 2 gigawatts of wind power to its energy mix by 2030, expanding that to 10 GW by 2040 and 17 GW by 2050.

Floating Wind and Hydrogen