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New publication: Implementing the Third Renewable Energy Directive in the Netherlands

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A new report by ECOAMARE researchers Alessio Devis and Anne Lansink from Utrecht University examines how the third Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) will affect offshore wind development in the Dutch part of the North Sea. While the Directive aims to accelerate renewable energy deployment, its implementation in the Netherlands presents both opportunities and legal and ecological challenges.

RED III introduces new tools to speed up planning and permitting, but it does not significantly relax EU nature protection rules. The Netherlands therefore remains bound by strict environmental obligations, even as it seeks to expand offshore wind capacity.

According to the report, the Dutch offshore wind framework is already highly efficient, with a coordinated “one-stop-shop” system under the Offshore Wind Energy Act and the Environment and Planning Act. As a result, RED III will require targeted legal and administrative adjustments rather than a complete overhaul.

The designation of Renewable Acceleration Areas in the North Sea may prove particularly challenging. Knowledge gaps about cumulative ecological effects, combined with strict location and mitigation requirements, complicate their designation at sea.

At the same time, RED III offers opportunities to address environmental impacts more strategically. By moving mitigation measures to an earlier, plan-level stage, the Netherlands could reduce risks and simplify project-level permitting while maintaining high levels of nature protection.

The report concludes that RED III aligns with the Netherlands’ ambition to accelerate the energy transition, but careful legal and ecological integration will be essential to ensure offshore wind development remains within the ecological limits of the North Sea.

By providing concrete recommendations, this report aims at assisting legislators and policymakers to take into account the most pressing concerns to accelerate the development of renewable energy within the safe ecological limits of the North Sea.


You can dowload the report here.