WindEurope Bulletin
WindEurope Bulletin April 2023
3 April 2023
CEO Foreword
Dear WindEurope Member,
In just four weeks’ time, we’ll be heading to Copenhagen for this year’s WindEurope Annual Event, from 25-27 April. As the largest wind energy gathering in Europe, you’ll have a chance to meet with 10,000+ people and almost 500 exhibitors from across the value chain. This year we’re looking at the five big challenges we have to tackle for our industry to scale-up.
IEA Chair Fatih Birol and EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson will be joining us for the Ministerial Session. And you’ll hear from many Ministers, industry leaders, academics, finance and NGO representatives across the three days. Here’s the full programme. And here’s the list of social and side events to look forward to – including our Gala Dinner in Copenhagen’s historic City Hall.
We hope you’ll be able to join us at the Event. If you haven’t done it yet, click here to register.
This Event comes on the back of a number of concerning figures for our industry. Chief among these are the 2022 wind investment numbers, which we issued last week – see the full report here. Europe invested just €17bn in new wind farms last year – the lowest figure since 2009. The capital raised financed just 10 GW of new wind capacity in the EU, and not a single large-scale offshore wind farm reached FID last year. As it stands we need to be building 31 GW a year if we want to reach our climate and energy goals for 2030.
This is a very stark warning for our industry and for National Governments. Our key development indicators are falling at a time when we need to be ramping up. We need to act quickly to restore investor confidence and to shore up investments in the supply chain.
Last month’s market design revision proposal will be critical to restoring that confidence. The EU Commission has clarified that the new revenue caps introduced last year are a temporary measure. They’ve also made it clear that new national support schemes for wind power investments should take the form of 2-sided Contracts for Difference (CfDs). Operators can still sell through PPAs – or they can combine CfDs with PPAs. And crucially electricity producers are still allowed to sell electricity on the market – which is vital for the growth of PPAs. All in all these measures are helpful – uncoordinated market interventions across the Member States have seriously damaged investor confidence. And these proposals would go some way to fixing this and encouraging the growth of PPAs. It’s vital that the Parliament and the Council now sign-off on this targeted approach. You can read more about all this here.
March also saw the Commission issue its new Green Deal Industrial Plan. It includes a Net-Zero Industry Act to strengthen Europe’s industrial base for clean technologies and a Critical Raw Materials Act to boost our capacity for sourcing raw materials. These new acts brings some important changes. Crucially the NZIA makes non-price criteria mandatory for on and offshore wind – before it had just been optional. We’ll still need to get the detail right on this.
But by and large the Plan falls short for the moment. It calls for 36 GW a year of new turbines in Europe. But that target can’t be met if we don’t have the tools to scale-up the supply chain in the meantime. The goal is to set up a new Sovereignty Fund which would support clean tech manufacturing, but this wouldn’t come online until later this year. In the meantime we might be able to draw on the Innovation Fund instead. But the priority here needs to be recast. The EU has to move away from its obsession with technological breakthroughs and needs to focus on bringing the supply chain back to health ASAP – by ramping up existing manufacturing capacity. See our article here for more details on the Industrial Plan.
You can learn more about these new developments in this latest Windflix video with Pierre and myself – it’s six minutes long. And don’t forget to register for our free webinar this Wednesday 5 April looking at the recent Finance Report for 2022 – with comments and analysis from specialists here at WindEurope.
I wish you an enjoyable read, and I look forward to seeing many of you in Copenhagen later this month!
Kind regards,
Giles Dickson
WindEurope Intelligence Platform
Our featured products this month
Offshore wind energy – key trends and statistics 2022
This report summarises offshore installations from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022.
Europe added 2.5 GW of offshore capacity during 2022. That’s 306 new offshore wind turbines connected to the grid, across seven wind farms. The UK commissioned the world’s largest wind farm Hornsea Two (1,386 MW). France commissioned its first commercial wind farm (480 MW). And Italy’s first offshore wind farm (30 MW) is now online.
Europe now has a total installed offshore wind capacity of 30.3 GW. That corresponds to 5,954 grid-connected wind turbines across 13 countries.
Financing and investment trends 2022
This report summarises financing activity across the European wind energy sector from 1 January to 31 December 2022.
Europe invested just €17bn for the construction of new wind farms in Europe, the lowest figure since 2009. The capital raised financed 12 GW of new wind power capacity. In addition, there was €16bn of project acquisition activity and 22 GW of project ownership changing hands.
In the EU, 10 GW of new projects were financed, well below the required rate of 31 GW/year to meet energy and climate targets. Financing conditions have become more difficult but wind energy projects should find plenty of capital available. But National Governments must restore investor confidence. The electricity market design reform should help here.
Members interview: Fugro
This month, we sat down with Erik-Jan Bijvank, Group Director Europe-Africa at Fugro, to talk about their role in the European offshore wind scene, their views on sustainability and workplace issues, and their innovative approach to wind farm operations.
Share your successes with us!
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Then make sure to get in touch with us here at WindEurope – we’ll be happy to promote your success story as part of our monthly Bulletin! This is a chance to share your accomplishments with thousands of others from right across the wind energy value chain – a major visibility boost.
Please be aware that this service is only available to members from the categories C3 and above. Publication of stories is on a first come, first served basis.
Get in touch with our Membership team now to send in your news!
Events
WindEurope Annual Event 2023
When: 25-27 April
Where: Copenhagen
The wind industry is ready. We know the challenges we’re up against. And we know how much is riding on us – decarbonisation, energy security, and the livelihoods of all Europeans. Now we need to make the leap – and kickstart the energy transformation of Europe.
Do you want to help us set things in motion? Then make sure to come and have your say! This year at Copenhagen – it’s time!
Join us as we take a look at the big asks for our industry in the years ahead, including the five biggest barriers to the build-out of wind. Across 50+ sessions, you’ll hear from 250+ speakers and stakeholders – industry leaders, EU policymakers and national energy ministers, financial experts, educators, innovators, community figures and NGO representatives.
And outside the conference? Visit the three specialised stages across the venue – focusing on electrification, startups and global markets for wind. Meet the nearly 500 exhibitors across the venue – companies, associations, institutes and interest groups, all eager to forge new links and to meet new partners. And make sure to come along to our many social and side events – a chance to mingle with industry colleagues in between the conference and to take in the best of Danish hospitality!
Got any questions about the event? Make sure to get in touch with our team. Otherwise, make sure to sign up here! We’re leaving no stone unturned, so make sure you get your word in too! See you in Copenhagen!
WindEurope Technology Workshop 2023
When: 1-2 June
Where: Lyon
This year’s gathering of wind energy technology experts is heading to Lyon, from 1-2 June!
This workshop will be zooming in on resource assessment and analysis of operating wind farms. We’ll tackle ongoing technical challenges, listen to the latest breakthroughs, and work to boost the strength and yield of our turbines at this vital moment for renewable energy in Europe.
This is a great chance to rekindle old connections and meet other wind tech experts – over some world-famous Lyonnais food and drink!
Registration will be opening later this week – do come if you can! For more info on the venue and accommodation, check out the event website here.
RE-Source 2023
When: 25-27 October
Where: Amsterdam
The RE-Source Event – Europe’s annual gathering of green energy buyers and sellers – returns to Amsterdam from 25-27 October! European corporate renewable energy sourcing has boomed in recent years, and new opportunities and markets for buyers and sellers are expanding all the time.
Don’t miss out on this unique corporate PPA get-together!
WindEurope Free Webinar
WindEurope is hosting a series of free webinars, covering the latest market intelligence reports for 2022.
In the final edition of our webinar series, we’ll be looking at financing and investment trends in 2022 – including asset financing, project acquisitions, green bonds, PPAs. We’ll also take a look at political developments affecting wind energy financing in Europe over the next few years.
- Wind Energy Financing and Investment Trends 2022 – 5 April 2023, 15:00-16:00 CEST
Job opportunities at WindEurope
WindEurope is a dynamic team of professionals – passionate about our work and strongly committed to the values of our organisation. We work at the cutting edge of wind energy policy: what we do here positively affects Europe and the wider world as well.
Become a part of our team and see how you can help shape the future of wind energy in Europe! Check out our current job openings below:
