Borders and Legislative Frameworks
Another challenge for offshore system integration is the inconsistency and absence of regulatory and legal frameworks. Nowadays a legal framework for offshore system integration is largely lacking. There is no legal definition for ‘offshore system integration’ or ‘offshore energy hubs’, nor on EU level, nor in any of the North Sea countries. System integration means that borders have to be crossed, also legally. Firstly, this means borders between sectors: in each North Sea country every legislation is set up per sector. This means that offshore wind and/or renewables, the hydrocarbon industry and Carbon Capture and Storage industry have their own legislations to which they should comply. As currently there is no offshore hydrogen industry, legislation for these activities are lacking or under development. Secondly, this means that borders between countries should be crossed, as every continental shelf has its own national policies and legislations to which offshore activities should comply.
Legal barriers and/or legal uncertainties can result in slow progress. Platform electrification will often depend on an exemption to the general rule that a wind farm directly or indirectly has to be connected to the transmission system. Offshore hydrogen production may be hampered by uncertainty about the concept of a combined wind hydrogen turbine and/or the absence of a clear legal framework governing the development of offshore hydrogen installations and qualifying the pipeline bringing the hydrogen to shore. The development of carbon dioxide transport and storage is less complicated but still some uncertainty may exist if use is made of (almost) depleted reservoirs and installations. Is reuse possible and how does reuse liaise with decommissioning rules and liabilities? In addition, if CO₂ is transported across borders and use is made of open access pipelines, it may be necessary to make use of bilateral agreements.