Collective action governance of the offshore wind farms: An empirical Dutch perspective on the North Sea

The North Sea has a significant potential for offshore wind energy, making it important in the European energy transition. However, it presents challenges, particularly regarding required changes to marine spatial planning (MSP), impacting the ecological and social systems. This study explores the potential of collective action as an alternative governance approach to managing the North Sea and its offshore wind farms as a common-pool resource. Following the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework, a semi-structured interview was developed and conducted with 14 Dutch experts. The results demonstrated different levels of governance and the settings influencing these levels. The research identified the following conditions that impact the opportunities for collective action on the North Sea energy resources: complex cost-benefit allocation, monitoring of resources, and a positive attitude towards collaboration. The results also indicated that the actors are willing to collaborate, and collective action could be a potential alternative governance approach for such a complex, large (energy) system. Future research avenues and recommendations are also presented. • The IAD framework is used to study the offshore wind farms in the North Sea. • The study collects empirical data by conducting interviews with 14 Dutch experts. • Collective action is suitable for managing large, complex (energy) systems. • roboStandard evaluation criteria for offshore wind farm developments are missing. • Certain actors and interactions are missing in the related decision-making processes.