By Tsvetana Paraskova
Increased gas supply from Norway to central Europe, the UK’s new wind electricity generation record, Denmark’s rebooted offshore wind tender, the EU’s grid package, and progress in major offshore wind and hydrogen projects featured in Europe’s energy industry at the end of 2025.
Oil & Gas
Norway’s Equinor has signed a 10-year agreement with Prague’s gas and electricity firm Pražská plynárenská to deliver gas into the Czech Republic until 2035.
Equinor’s supplies of pipeline gas to Europe are backed by the resources on the Norwegian continental shelf, Europe’s most important energy province, the Norwegian energy major said at the end of November.
This agreement “joins a string of long-term gas contracts we have signed across Europe in recent years, demonstrating the role gas plays for European energy security”, Equinor’s CEO Anders Opedal said.
While Equinor’s main gas markets have been in Northwest Europe and the UK, the company has expanded its reach over the past decade to include supplies to the Baltics and Poland and now sees a growing market potential among customers in Central and Southern Europe.
Offshore Norway, Vår Energi’s appraisal well 7122/8-4 S has confirmed the Zagato oil discovery, which was proven in February.
The well was drilled just north of the Goliat field, 90 kilometres from Hammerfest, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate said.
The discovery is estimated to contain between 18 and 64 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent. The licensees in the exploration licence are considering tying the discovery back to existing infrastructure on the Goliat field.
Low-Carbon Energy
UK energy regulator Ofgem has approved a £28 billion investment programme for energy network companies to upgrade the UK’s power and gas grids. The upgrades are aimed at making Britain’s energy networks stable, secure, and resilient.
Most of the funding, or £17.8 billion, will go towards maintaining Britain’s gas networks, keeping them among the safest, most secure and resilient in the world. The remaining initial investment of £10.3 billion will be earmarked for strengthening the electricity transmission network, improve reliability, and expand capacity to support the electrification of the economy and drive growth.
“Investing now to maintain world class resilience and expand grid capacity is the most cost-effective way to harness clean power, support economic growth, and protect the country from gas price shocks like the one seen in 2022,” Ofgem said.
Great British Energy published in early December its first Strategic Plan to accelerate the UK’s shift to renewable power and strengthen the nation’s industrial backbone.
The Plan provided further detail on the £1 billion “Energy – Engineered in the UK” programme, a major initiative designed to strengthen the UK’s industrial base and help deliver the UK’s Industrial Strategy.
With the priorities and funding set in the plan, Great British Energy aims to deliver by 2030 at least 15 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy generation and storage assets – enough to power the equivalent of almost 10 million homes.
A total of £15 billion of private finance is expected to be mobilised over time, driven by GBE’s investments and long-term partnerships. GBE will also support more than 1,000 local and community energy projects, expanding public participation and local control in the energy system. More than 10,000 jobs, directly supported through GBE-backed and funded projects, including in areas historically dependent on oil and gas, are expected to be created.
“This plan shows what a publicly-owned energy company will deliver: an abundance of clean, homegrown energy for British people and thousands of good jobs across the country,” Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said.
While the oil and gas industry slammed the lack of reform to the Energy Profits Levy in the Budget, the RenewableUK association welcomed the Budget commitments to cut energy bills, speed up planning system, and remove the hydrogen tax.
“This package of measures will help our industry to deliver greater energy security and create even more jobs while ensuring fairness for consumers,” RenewableUK’s Deputy Chief Executive, Jane Cooper, said.
The European Commission moved to launch a major grid upgrade to the EU’s power transmission networks by proposing the European Grids Package aimed at enabling more efficient electricity flow across all Member States, integrating cheaper clean energy, and accelerating electrification.
The package will ensure secure and reliable supply as Europe moves away from Russian energy imports to achieve energy independence, the Commission said in December.
The new approach will allow the best use of existing energy infrastructure and, in parallel, accelerate the development of grids and other physical energy infrastructure across the EU.
The package is a crucial step toward making energy more affordable and secure for households and industry, the WindEurope association said in response to the EU Grids Package.
This set of legislative and policy measures to modernise and expand Europe’s electricity grids addresses long-standing bottlenecks in grid development, proposes new rules for grid planning and permitting, and sets out a vision for a more integrated, resilient, and future-proof energy system – based on high shares of wind.
“Grids are vital to Europe’s energy security and competitiveness. A renewables-based energy system will be much cheaper for Europe – even when you factor in the additional costs for grids, storage, and electrification,” WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson said.
“But you can’t have more renewable electricity without more grids. The EU Grids Package will enable faster permitting, better planning and increased investment certainty.”
In project news, the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has granted development consent to the Development Consent Order (DCO) for the Morecambe Offshore Windfarm.
When complete, the 480-megawatt (MW) project, located approximately 30 km from the Lancashire coast in the Eastern Irish Sea, will generate enough renewable electricity to power more than 500,000 UK homes. Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP) leads development for the Morecambe Offshore Windfarm on behalf of the project’s owner, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), which acquired full ownership of the project in the first half of 2025.
“This positive offshore planning approval represents a major step for the Morecambe Offshore Wind Farm and we are ready to progress to the next phase of the project,” said Keld Bennetsen, Executive Vice President and Head of Europe at COP.
The Crown Estate will award Ocean Winds, the 50-50 joint venture between EDPR and ENGIE, the rights for a third floating offshore wind site in the Celtic Sea.
The news follows the Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5 auction in June which awarded rights for two of three sites for new floating wind farms to Equinor and Gwynt Glas, who both entered into agreements for lease for their respective floating wind farm projects in October.
Ocean Winds and The Crown Estate will now work towards finalising an Agreement for Lease, which is expected to conclude in the spring of 2026.
A recent report by Frontier Economics, commissioned by AquaVentus, has found that combining offshore wind generation with offshore hydrogen production could significantly cut system costs while strengthening energy security in Germany.
Offshore sector coupling, linking offshore wind farms with offshore electrolysers and hydrogen pipelines, delivers the biggest savings, the analysis found.
Germany needs to take regulatory steps to turn the opportunity into reality, Frontier’s report says. These steps include expanding designated areas for offshore electrolysis beyond the current 1 GW limit, allowing mixed offshore power-and-hydrogen connections, giving such integrated projects legal priority, and creating mechanisms to de-risk investment.
The Danish Energy Agency in November announced tenders for three new Danish offshore wind areas for at least 2.8 GW of offshore wind power.
Denmark has revamped its tender scheme and regulations following failed offshore wind tenders in 2024, in which no bids were received. Subsequently, the Danish Energy Agency has held several market dialogues, which formed the basis for two political agreements in 2025. The new 2.8 GW offshore wind tenders are based on these agreements.
RWE will build its largest battery energy storage facility in the UK—Pembroke Battery Storage, after taking a final investment decision in December. The £200 million development, once constructed, plays an important role in the operation of the Pembroke Net Zero Centre decarbonisation hub in South Wales.
Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens, hosted in November the marine energy sector to discuss how industry and government can work together to realise Wales’ 6 GW of tidal stream and wave energy potential. The discussion covered industry progress, the role of the Marine Energy Taskforce, and the upcoming renewable auction.
In Wales, progress is being made at the Morlais project in Anglesey, which is a community-owned tidal stream site, managed by the social enterprise Menter Môn, with 240 MW of consented capacity.
In the last three renewable auctions, 38 MW has been successfully contracted by companies including Inyanga Marine, Magallanes Renovables, QED Naval, and Verdant, with projects due to deploy before 2028.
In Germany, construction was launched for Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub (HGHH), a 100 MW electrolyzer at the site of the former Moorburg power plant. The project plans to start commercial operations in the second half of 2027 and produce around 10,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.
In the Netherlands, Vattenfall has secured 100 MW (400 MWh) of storage capacity from the Dutch Leopard battery.
Giga Storage has reached Final Investment Decision (FID) for the Leopard battery, which will have a maximum output of 300 MW and be built in Delfzijl in northern Netherlands. Vattenfall will be able to store up to 400 megawatt-hours in the battery and charge or discharge at a maximum capacity of 100 MW. The contract will commence on 1 January, 2028.
