The European wind energy industry has launched an unprecedented ‘call to action’ calling on European governments to take steps to boost the industry’s security and competitiveness
The Copenhagen Call to Action launched on the first day of WindEurope’s annual conference in Copenhagen, Denmark calls on Governments to take three simple actions to boost Europe’s energy security and competitiveness, alongside the full and immediate implementation of the EU Clean Industrial Deal.
Firstly, says the call to action, the EU should ensure that its new permitting rules are applied. Wind Europe says the new permitting rules, ‘work wonders.’ It says Germany is now permitting seven times as much onshore wind as five years ago. It also wants the EU to filter out ‘zombie projects’ from grid connection queues because they are clogging up the system.
Secondly, the industry wants to remove barriers to electrification. “Let industry get state aid to electrify with renewable power purchase agreements (PPA), which are not just for onsite power. Remove non-energy taxes and charges from electricity bills so renewables become an obvious choice for consumers,” WindEurope said
Lastly, it wants the EU to de-risk wind investments with a stable pipeline of two-sided Contract for Difference auctions. WindEurope says CfDs improve the cost of capital and visibility on revenues and are good value for governments.
The call for action comes as the industry faces unprecedented competitiveness and security challenges. “As a homegrown and affordable source of energy, wind is uniquely placed to help strengthen Europe’s energy security and competitiveness,” WindEurope said, but the build-out of wind is too slow today.
“Amid unprecedented economic insecurity, the EU’s new Clean Industrial Deal puts electrification and the accelerated build-out of renewables at the heart of Europe’s industrial strategy. Wind is 20% of the electricity Europe consumes today,” said WindEurope.
“The EU wants it to be 35% by 2030 and over half by 2050. And energy-intensive industries want more wind. It’s cheaper than fossil alternatives, even when the grid and system costs are taken into account. Wind helps European businesses to electrify and cut their energy costs. It’s a completely local source of energy so it strengthens energy security and removes the price volatility of imported fossil fuels.
“The European wind energy supply chain is growing to deliver on the increased wind volumes Europe needs. It is currently investing over €11Bn in new factories to meet the Clean Industrial Deal objectives. But Europe isn’t building enough new wind to support its competitiveness and energy security objectives. The main reasons are poor permitting, slow grid build-out, bad auction design and insufficient electrification. Electricity is still only 23% of energy consumption in Europe – China has overtaken that and is powering ahead on electrification.”
WindEurope chairman Henrik Andersen said, “Europe is in a moment of transition. To secure European influence in the global economy, we need more secure, affordable and sustainable energy. Wind energy is already driving industrial growth and energy independence across Europe, we just need to scale up. This calls for increasing viable demand for wind energy, and strengthening wind’s market environment. WindEurope Copenhagen will be a critical opportunity for European Governments and industry to agree on how we can achieve this, together.”
Addressing the conference, WindEurope vice-chair Rasmus Errboe said, “It is more important than ever to find solutions. We need to get it done now. We are not building enough windfarms and China is doing laps around us on electrification.”
