There are more than 2400 inhabited islands in the EU. Despite having access to renewable sources of energy, such as wind and wave energy, many of them depend on expensive fossil fuel imports for their energy supply.

In May 2017 a "Political Declaration on Clean Energy For EU Islands" was signed in recognition that islands and island regions face a particular set of energy challenges and opportunities due to their specific geographic and climatic conditions. The opportunities have the potential to make Europe’s island communities innovation leaders in the clean energy transition for Europe and beyond - a fact the European Commission explicitly recognised in its Communication on "Clean Energy for All Europeans", reassuring its commitment to ensure that the energy concerns of island inhabitants are at the forefront of the energy transition and related policy developments