Offshore wind energy has an “important” role in helping the EU to meet its 2020 renewable energy target, Hans Van Steen, Head of Unit at the European Commission’s department for energy said on Tuesday.

Some 40 GW of offshore wind energy should be online by 2020, with the majority being in the North Sea, he added, speaking at an event called ‘Offshore renewable energies: exploring the synergies’ in Brussels as part of the European week of regions and cities.

The 40 GW figure chimes exactly with EWEA’s target to have a minimum of 40 GW of offshore wind energy by 2020.

It is imperative that people approve of and share in the benefits of wind energy and other power-generating technologies if Europe is to reach its target of decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% compared to 1990 levels by 2020.

That was the main message coming out of a lively debate that took place during the Committee of the Region’s Open Days, Hans van der Loo, Shell’s Vice-President of European Union Liaison, said in an interview Wednesday.

Van der Loo, who made closing remarks at Tuesday’s debate, said it is important that Europe work harder at encouraging public support for emissions-free wind power and other renewable technologies in order to deal with NIMBYism.

In keeping with its goal of rapidly ramping up the use of wind power and other renewables, South Korea is planning a $7.8-billion offshore wind farm complex that will initially feature 200 5MW wind turbines.

In addition, the highly-industrialised nation of 48.5 million people hopes by 2019 to have as many as 1,000 offshore wind turbines generating up to 5GW of electricity per hour, a Yonhap News Agency report said, adding that would be equivalent to the amount of electricity generated by four nuclear reactors.

The story is an example of forward-thinking Asian nations — China, India and South Korea among them — getting deeply involved in the expanding wind power sector and setting ambitious targets for harnessing green electricity to replace expensive and polluting fossil fuels.

Europe’s renewable energy landscape, already expanding steadily, is readying itself for further growth. At the end of June this year all 27 member states were set to hand-in their National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs) containing the steps they will take to reach their ambitious renewable energy targets by 2020.  While these plans are still being analysed, it is clear that the NREAPs are a good thing for the renewables sector and protecting our increasingly fragile climate.

Speaking at a Friends of Europe debate, Adam Brown, Senior Energy Analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA) said: “The IEA’s view is that a huge expansion in renewables is essential to get anywhere near the energy mix which will allow the climate to be managed in a sensible way.”

But it’s not just the climate that will benefit from the renewable expansion that the NREAPs will encourage: Europe can work for its own competitive interests. Philip Lowe, European Commission Director General for Energy, told Europe to “think about developing renewables not just in terms of climate change but also as just plain and simple self-interest in competitive global markets.”

This fact is evident in the wind power sector where, if Europe does not invest in keeping its position as world market leader now, countries like China could step in and overtake Europe’s longstanding lead.

The European wind power industry should take quick notice of two different yet related pieces of information traveling around cyberspace in the past week as both deal with China’s stunningly rapid growth.

A Bloomberg article noted an Oxford University study indicates European companies could benefit from collaboration with Chinese manufacturers seeking to improve wind park efficiency as the nation continues its meteoric expansion of the emissions-free sector.

“Wind park siting, or picking the best site for the turbine to gain the most wind energy, and grid development are among opportunities for collaboration between European and Chinese companies, Benito Mueller, director of Oxford University’s Institute for Energy Studies, and colleagues wrote in a study,” the Bloomberg article noted.