Hogan Lovells Publications | April 2021

Offshore wind worldwide – Regulatory framework in selected countries

The offshore wind industry has and is continuing to flourish even in extraordinarily challenging times as experienced across the globe in 2020 and well into the first quarter of 2021, according to the assessment of the international law firm Hogan Lovells and the World Forum Offshore Wind (WFO).

"Many experts seem to agree that the industry has come through the crisis better and is more resilient than one might have expected a year ago. Europe added nearly 15 GW of wind power capacity in 2020, out of which 3 GW are offshore capacity", says Dr Christian Knütel, Partner at Hogan Lovells in Hamburg. Knütel adds that, "while this fell short of forecasts, it still represents a respectable increase."

Together with Prof. Dr. Martin Skiba and Gunnar Herzig from the WFO, Dr. Christian Knütel, WFO's general counsel and Hogan Lovells' Hamburg partner specializing in offshore projects, presents the 2021 edition of the handbook "Offshore Wind Worldwide – Regulatory Framework in Selected Countries", a comprehensive review of the public and regulatory framework conditions of leading worldwide offshore wind power markets. The 2021 edition features a foreword by Mark Leybourne, Senior Energy Specialist for Offshore Wind of the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) and co-lead of the World Bank Group’s Offshore Wind Development Program.

Continuing the trail set by the previous edition, this updated handbook presents new key laws and relevant legislative amendments in countries such as Vietnam, Germany, Poland, and Denmark and provides a valuable glimpse into the Republic of Korea’s New Green Deal and the ensuing policy and regulatory enactments in China. The 2021 edition likewise presents notable regulatory developments in and the competitiveness of the offshore wind industry in India, Taiwan, Japan, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, and describes the current regulatory situation in Belgium and in the Netherlands. 

Gunnar Herzig, Managing Director of the WFO, remarks that, "[it] is noteworthy to state that unlike many other industries which have struggled with the economic implications of COVID-19, the offshore wind industry has shown remarkable robustness."

This observation is echoed by Mark Leybourne of ESMAP and the World Bank Group’s Offshore Wind Development Program, who adds that, "2020 was a record-breaking year for new offshore wind installations, resulting in a total of over 35 GW operating across the globe by the end of the year."

As the existing offshore wind energy markets strengthen their positions in the industry and the global demands for CO2-friendly energy alternatives increase, the handbook presented here provides an informative reference of the continuously developing legal framework conditions in the international offshore wind market.

The handbook is the result of an international collaboration between lawyers from Hogan Lovells and lawyers from Best-Friends law firms on three continents. Equipped with excellent industry knowledge, this handbook provides first-hand insights into national legal systems. It is updated annually, making it a companion for years to come and a first-class reference for a global overview of the legal conditions of the offshore industry.

A free copy of the handbook is available here:

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