North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Machelle Baker Sanders and Director General Kristoffer Bottzauw of the Danish Energy Agency have signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the two agencies.
The agreement, known as the Cooperation on Offshore Wind Energy and Related Sectors agreement, will enhance North Carolina’s ability to responsibly develop offshore wind energy.
Denmark has a goal of a 70 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. North Carolina has similar goal under bipartisan legislation enacted in 2021. House Bill 951 calls for a 70 percent reduction in carbon emissions from the energy sector by 2030. And it calls for carbon neutrality from energy production by 2050.
Governor Cooper’s Executive Order 218 established North Carolina’s offshore wind development goals of 2.8 gigawatts by 2030 and 8 gigawatts by 2040. Eight gigawatts is enough to power more than 2.3 million homes across our state.
To reach these goals, North Carolina and the Danish Energy Agency intend to share best practices, conduct missions with government officials, and identify and evaluate the economic benefits associated with the responsible development of the offshore wind energy sector in North Carolina.
This MOU will be implemented through a working group with participants from North Carolina and Denmark.