Germany and France Pledge Wind Farms Cooperation

France and Germany agreed Friday to step up cooperation in wind energy, sketching plans to build wind farms together. The facilities may be located onshore or offshore, "in France, Germany or other countries," German Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin and French Industry Minister Patrick Devedjian said in a joint statement issued at the renewable energies conference in Bonn. Offshore wind parks will take up to 10 years to build and cost between €250-500 million ($300-600 million) each, they said. Onshore wind parks would be cheaper and their construction time "substantially shorter," they said without elaborating. Funds would come in part from European Union (EU) support for expanding renewable energies.