22 July 2024
WindEurope’s response to Ursula von der Leyen’s re-election commitment
‘The future of our prosperity must be made in Europe’ – WindEurope welcomes EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s commitment to home-grown renewables as part of the agenda for her second mandate.
It’s great she’s announced a new Clean Industrial Deal. Europe’s energy intensive industries want to decarbonise. And they want to do it with the help of cheap wind energy. The wind industry is ready to make this happen – and we’re partnering with energy-intensives to help deliver the goals of the Antwerp Declaration. But it needs strong public policy support.
And it’s great that the new EU Commission is going to double down on its support for clean tech manufacturing with a new EU Competitiveness Fund. And that less red tape and faster permitting for renewables will remain priorities for the next five years.
Von der Leyen’s Commission did a lot for wind energy in her first term. The 2023 Wind Power Package was already a big step in the right direction. More support is needed now to increase the number of new wind farms to meet the EU’s 2030 targets – and to strengthen the supply chains required for that. Wind is 20% of Europe’s electricity – the EU want it to be 35% by 2030. Nearly all the wind turbines built in Europe are made in Europe. To keep that the EU needs to further strengthen its wind supply chains and relevant logistics infrastructure.
The energy transition is more than anything about the electrification of energy – in transport, buildings and industry. It’s no good that electricity is still only 23% of EU energy consumption. The new Commission needs to give a big push here. They also need to continue the push they’ve started giving the expansion and modernisation of Europe’s electricity grids.
