WindEurope Bulletin
WindEurope Bulletin January 2023
11 January 2023
CEO Foreword
Dear WindEurope Member,
I wish you a very Happy New Year and every possible success for 2023.
We’ve just issued headline data for 2022. The EU built 15 GW of new wind farms last year, one third more than 2021. This is not too bad given all the challenges in the supply chain. But it’s still short of what we need to build to meet the EU’s 2030 energy targets. 90% of the new build was onshore. The leading markets were Germany, Sweden and Finland. We’ll issue full data and analysis in our Annual Wind Statistics at the end of February.
Looking to the year ahead, it’s clear the energy crisis isn’t going away, even if wholesale prices may have fallen in recent weeks. Consumers will still be burdened by high energy prices. Governments will continue to pressure us to step up to the plate and deliver more clean, home-grown energy. You may have seen that our Chair Sven Utermöhlen wrote to you this week, setting out WindEurope’s five “must-wins” for 2023:
- Supporting the preservation and expansion of the wind supply chain;
- Delivering on the promise of simpler permitting;
- Ensuring energy market rules send the right market signals;
- Supporting faster grid build-out and better planning; and
- Helping the wind industry to secure the talent it needs.
You can read the full WindEurope Work Programme for 2023 here. And here’s a 5-minute “Giles & Pierre” video where we chat about 2022 data and the outlook for 2023.
Many of our “must wins” are already top priorities for the EU. The latter are especially determined to step up their activity on clean energy supply chains, not least in response to the US Inflation Reduction Act. It’s vital that National Governments are on board with this as well since many of the key measures that would help us, such as investment tax credits, can only be taken at national level. The EU will also focus this year on critical materials for the energy transition, with a new Raw Materials Act looking to strengthen Europe’s sourcing capacity for e.g. rare earths and permanent magnets.
We’ll soon see important developments on electricity market design too. There was a lot of confusion last year with National Governments bringing in a patchwork of different unhelpful revenue caps and taxes. Wind auctions were undersubscribed as a result. And investor confidence took a hit. The EU will now table new electricity market rules in March. These will shape the revenue model for both existing assets and new investments. They will also determine what should happen with the emergency measures and any future Government interventions in markets. This is clearly a top issue for us: we’ve got to ensure Europe’s sending better signals to investors than they are right now. Here is a joint statement on this we issued last month with the chemicals industry. And here’s a 5-minute video on what’s needed to fix the electricity market.
A quick word about grids. We need to see a lot more build-out here both on and offshore. There’s been major underinvestment in European grids for many years now. Last month the UK agreed with the EU that it will partially re-engage again with the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) group. This is good news. It’s in everyone’s interest that North Sea countries should work towards an integrated offshore grid.
In his email Sven also drew attention to WindEurope’s upcoming Annual Event – 25-27 April in Copenhagen. This will be the key European wind energy gathering of 2023. It’ll be our usual exhibition plus conference. The exhibition is sold out already: there’ll be over 400 stands. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol is opening the conference with EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, and a number of national Ministers will be speaking. Registration opens next week – we look forward to seeing you there!
Kind regards,
Giles Dickson
WindEurope Intelligence Platform
Our featured products this month
National Policy and Regulatory Developments – December 2022
This online resource covers the latest changes in policy and regulation across European countries impacting wind energy and is regularly updated. This edition looks at the EU’s emergency measures on market design and permitting, varied responses across the Member States, and recent changes of Government across Europe.
This tool lists corporate renewable PPAs in Europe to date – by technology, country and sector. It also lists the corporates in Europe with the largest volume of PPA capacity under contract.
Members Successes
Tekmar Group starts the year strong with significant contract awards
Tekmar Group (AIM: TGP), a leading provider of technology and services for the global offshore energy markets, is pleased to announce that Group companies Pipeshield International Limited and Subsea Innovation Limited, have been awarded several significant contracts.
Pipeshield International Limited has been awarded multiple contracts from an offshore EPC contractor to provide pipeline support and protection materials for major subsea construction projects in the Middle East. The combined value of the projects is over £8 million with delivery expected in the first half of 2023. This builds on Pipeshield’s extensive experience in the region and the contracts include the design, manufacturing and supply of concrete sleepers, concrete mattresses and associated equipment. The products will be manufactured at Pipeshield’s regional supply bases in Damman (KSA) and Doha (Qatar).
Steven Howlett, Managing Director of Pipeshield, said: “The contracts help consolidate our position in the Middle East and create a basis for further regional expansion supporting our growth strategy. I congratulate the team on securing these projects, which are a testament to our subsea engineering and project management expertise, as well as our local manufacturing and supply chain capability”.
Subsea Innovation has been awarded a significant contract for a bespoke turnkey launch and recovery (LAR) system. This builds on Subsea Innovation’s extensive experience in the production of LARs systems and the scope of this contract includes the design and build of the A-frame, winch with interchangeable drum sets, hydraulic power unit (HPU) and transport frames. The contract value is approximately £2m and is expected to be delivered by December 2023.
Dave Thompson, Managing Director of Subsea Innovation, said: “We are pleased that Subsea Innovation has been awarded this significant contract for bespoke mission equipment. This contract award further strengthens our position as a leader in the sector and supports the continued growth of our business. We are excited to work on this project and deliver exceptional results for our client.”
Share your successes with us!
Is your brand bringing new, ground-breaking solutions to the wind industry? Have you recently launched a major project in your field? Do you have positive business news to share?
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!
Members interview: Airborne Wind Europe
This month, we sat down with Kristian Petrick, Secretary General of Airborne Wind Europe, to discuss the growth and development of airborne wind energy, its potential in the years ahead, and the role of WindEurope in helping to make it mainstream.
Events
WindEurope Annual Event 2023
When: 25-27 April
Where: Copenhagen
2023 will be a pivotal year for wind in Europe. The EU and National Governments want to rapidly expand their capacity. The energy crisis is going nowhere fast, and the appeal of clean, home-grown energy is growing by the day. But we still face plenty of hurdles: supply chain challenges, permitting bottlenecks, slow grid build-out and an unhelpful market design. We’ve got a lot on our plate. At the WindEurope Annual Event, we’ll be coming together to make sense of it all and plot the way forward.
This will be the key wind industry gathering in Europe this year. 10,000+ attendees from Europe and beyond will be joining us at the state-of-the-art Bella Center in Copenhagen, from 25-27 April, to help shape the future of wind. There’ll be:
- A three-day conference with 50+ sessions looking at how to deliver a rapid buildout of wind and doubling down on the major obstacles.
- 250+ speakers from policy, industry, finance, academia and NGOs.
- 400+ exhibitors across the venue, representing every facet of wind energy in Europe. The ideal space to reach out, share your insights and build your contact base!
- A Startup Pavilion, showcasing fresh voices and the latest innovative wind energy technology.
- Social and side events across the three days, a chance to network and to see the highlights of this year’s sustainable host city.
All eyes in Europe are on wind energy at the moment, and this Event is a chance to showcase what we do best and to put us on the path to success. So come along and leave your mark! Registration opens Monday 16 January – we hope to see you there!
WindEurope Technology Workshop 2023
When: June
Where: Lyon
The WindEurope Technology Workshop is back this June in Lyon, France! We’ll be hosting 350+ experts from across the wind energy value chain, with different sessions and outlets covering developments and practical solutions on a whole range of topics. This year’s focus is on Analysis of Operating Wind Farms, Forecasting and Resource Assessment.
Want to have an active role in shaping the programme? We’ve launched a call for abstracts to define the scope of the debate, and we’re calling on innovators involved in the wind tech scene to come forward with their ideas! Check out the guidelines here, and click here to submit your abstracts! The deadline is 2 March.
We look forward to hearing your ideas!
Windflix
Giles & Pierre – New Episode
In this edition, Giles & Pierre take stock of EU wind installations in 2022 and look ahead to 2023. Last year Europe built 15 GW of new wind energy capacity. This is still well short of the numbers we need to meet the EU’s climate and energy targets. So what’s holding us back? What are our priorities for the year ahead? And what new proposals can we expect to see from the EU in the coming months?
