Posters

Abstract

The wind energy sector's ambitious scale-up targets face a critical intersection with evolving carbon pricing policies that are fundamentally reshaping industrial economics and manufacturing strategies. This study examines how the European Union's Emissions Trading System (ETS) and Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) create transformative economic conditions for wind energy deployment, particularly affecting manufacturing automation and supply chain optimization decisions. Drawing from comprehensive analysis of carbon pricing mechanisms across key wind turbine manufacturing sectors—steel, cement, aluminum, and electricity—this research demonstrates how the EU's climate neutrality targets by 2050 directly accelerate wind energy competitiveness. The ETS has already achieved 37% emissions reductions in covered sectors since 2005, creating price signals that improve wind project economics while simultaneously pressuring carbon-intensive manufacturing processes toward automation and efficiency improvements. The study focuses on Türkiye as a strategic case study, given its significant role as a wind turbine component supplier to EU markets and its position as a rapidly expanding wind energy market. With CBAM implementation creating cost pressures on Turkish steel and aluminum exports—critical materials for wind turbine manufacturing—the research quantifies how these mechanisms drive manufacturing localization, automation investments, and supply chain reconfiguration. Through detailed embedded emissions calculations and cost modeling, the analysis reveals how carbon pricing transforms wind energy from subsidy-dependent to market-driven growth. The research examines specific impacts on turbine component manufacturing, where CBAM compliance requirements are accelerating domestic production capabilities and driving technological innovation in manufacturing processes. The findings demonstrate that strategic alignment with EU carbon pricing frameworks enables emerging wind markets to capitalize on policy-driven competitive advantages while contributing to global decarbonization goals. This creates opportunities for wind energy stakeholders to leverage carbon pricing mechanisms as catalysts for both deployment acceleration and manufacturing sector transformation, supporting the industry's critical role in economy-wide electrification efforts.