WindEurope Bulletin
WindEurope Bulletin January 2024
18 January 2024
A word from the CEO
Dear WindEurope Member,
I’d like to begin by wishing you a Happy New Year and every good fortune and success in 2024. I hope you saw the message from our Chairman José Luis with the WindEurope “must wins” for the year.
You may have seen the data we’ve released for 2023. The EU built 17 GW of new wind. It’s well below the 30 GW/year we need to build to meet Europe’s 2030 targets. But it’s up on 2022 – and in fact is the highest ever figure for a single year. Meanwhile 19% of all electricity in Europe came from wind last year, up from 17% in 2022 – the EU target for 2030 is 35%.
There are other reasons to be cheerful. Our industry is in a better place now than it was this time last year. After running at a loss, most of the turbine manufacturers are returning to profitability. We also saw €30bn of new investments in offshore wind last year – compared with hardly any offshore FIDs in 2022. Vestas are building new factories in Poland. New offshore foundation factories are coming in Rotterdam, Esbjerg and England. A new tower factory in Gdańsk. New facilities for substation platforms in Germany, Spain and Denmark. And all the cable manufacturers are expanding.
All this comes on the back of the EU’s excellent Wind Power Package with its 15 immediate actions to support our industry. Plus the Wind Energy Charter that 26 Governments signed last month committing to take the actions in the Wind Power Package that fall to them. Thank you to the >300 companies among you who co-signed the Charter. Meanwhile the EU issued a Grid Action Plan in November which promises to tackle the grid bottlenecks we face.
Our overriding goal now is to make sure that Governments keep the promises they made when signing the Wind Charter and deliver the actions set out in the Wind Power Package. In particular, as José Luis said in his message last week, we want to see movement in these key areas:
- Strengthening the European wind supply chain – visibility on future volumes, better auction design, tariff indexation and pragmatic pre-qualification criteria.
- Building out the grid – top-down grid planning, anticipatory investments, management of connection queues and incentives for TSOs and DSOs to optimise the grid
- Simplifying permitting – following the example of Germany and others, unlocking new volumes of wind. And more efforts to digitalise the permitting process.
Energy and climate change are set to be hot topics in the EU elections this June. It’s vital for us as an industry to stress the added societal value of wind energy wherever we can.
“Our wind, our value” will be the focus of our Annual Event in Bilbao on 20-22 March. It’s only 9 weeks away now. NB: it’s on Wednesday to Friday, starting with a Members Reception on the Tuesday evening. Registrations are open. The exhibition is sold out with over 400 stands. The programme is here. We’re expecting 12,000 people. Do book your hotels early if you haven’t done so already!
Finally can I pay tribute to Eddie O’Connor, one of the great pioneers of wind energy in Europe, who passed away recently. Many of you will remember him as a passionate advocate of renewables and a visionary who changed the way we think about energy. He was key in setting up Ireland’s first wind farm and was a founding father of our association, EWEA as it was then. He later founded and led Mainstream Renewables Power and SuperNode Ltd. He spent his entire career championing the benefits of wind and inspired so many of us to do the same. As we work as an industry to deliver the growth of wind, let us remember Eddie, his life’s work and his vision for a green and electric future.
Kind regards,
Giles Dickson
WindEurope Intelligence Platform
Last month, WindEurope’s Market Intelligence team hosted an exclusive workshop for members. In case you missed it, here are the recording and the presentation slides.
The workshop looked into the nine major onshore wind markets: Germany, Spain, France, Turkey, Finland, Italy, Poland, and the UK. And identified the main factors influencing installations in the years to come – including policies, grids, permitting, and other crucial elements that could impact countries’ ability to achieve their 2030 targets.
Members Successes
Flender ranks among the highest one percent of most sustainable companies globally
German drive specialist Flender, including its Winergy brand for wind drive systems, has achieved EcoVadis’ platinum medal, placing it in the top one percent of companies rated for sustainability. After earning the gold medal in its initial 2022 application, Flender has now attained the highest recognition with the platinum medal. The renowned Winergy brand is operated under the corporate structure of Flender.
EcoVadis sets the global economic standard for corporate sustainability ratings. Over 100,000 companies in over 200 industries and 175 countries worldwide have received an EcoVadis rating. EcoVadis rates companies in four main areas: Environment, Labour and Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement.
Very good results in all assessment areas
In all four main areas, EcoVadis rated Flender with very high scores in its evaluation. The basis for this is an advanced sustainability management system and a strategy with a holistic commitment to ecological, social, and ethical concerns. In particular the activities initiated as part of the sustainability strategy have been awarded the highest score, ‘Outstanding,’ in many instances by EcoVadis. Flender has further increased its transparency and accountability through the publication of sustainability reports.
The EcoVadis rating follows the German Sustainability Award, which the company received in November 2023. According to the jury, the Flender and Winergy brands are the quality leaders for wind and industrial drives and thus make an outstanding contribution to the energy transition. In addition, the company had made significant, exemplary contributions to the transformation by setting an example and sending positive signals to its industry and beyond, the jury explained. This places the innovative gearbox manufacturer from Bocholt at the forefront of sustainable pioneers in mechanical engineering.
Collaboration and teamwork within the wind industry
An essential part of the company’s commitment is its close collaboration with industry partners. This includes joint CSR workshops and best practice sharing with Wind OEMs and the supply chain. “Teamwork, learning from and inspiring each other is essential. We are heading in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go. And we can’t do it on our own,” says Head of CSR Kimberley ten Broeke.
The results speak for themselves: Flender has already reduced its Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions (direct and indirect emissions) by 79% and aims to be completely carbon-neutral by 2030. Suppliers are evaluated and chosen according to their social and ecological practices, and are, for example, analysed through sustainability audits.
But sustainability goes beyond environmental and climate protection, as demonstrated by efforts in areas such as working conditions, ethics, and human rights. The company takes various measures to ensure the health, safety, and protection of its employees. A special focus is globally placed on the topic of education and training.
For more information about Flender’s and Winergy’s CSR activities, you can refer to the 2022 CSR Report.
Aerones receives €4,416,000 grant from EU’s Innovation Fund for new robot deployment
Aerones has secured Innovation Fund support provided for highly innovative, market-ready, scalable and ambitious infrastructure projects aimed at CO2 emission reduction. The company specialises in robot-enabled turbine inspection and maintenance services, and plans to use the Innovation Fund grant of €4,416,000 to produce and deploy the world’s first wind turbine blade leading edge repair robot sets. Total budget of the project is €7,360,000.
Dainis Kruze, co-founder & CEO of Aerones: “The repair of wind turbine blades is a critical aspect of maintaining the efficiency and sustainability of wind energy production. With the support of the Innovation Fund, Aerones is committed to deploying state-of-the-art technology to enhance the wind industry. Our project aims to achieve turbine repairs within 18 hours, significantly minimising downtime and contributing to global climate goals. This innovative approach will lead to a 67% reduction in repair downtime, avoiding 161,349 tonnes of CO2 emissions over a decade and enabling the production of an additional 918,320 MWh of renewable electricity.”
Leading edge erosion is among the most common turbine blade issues. As wind turbines grow in size, blade rotation speed at the tip of the blade can exceed 360 km/h. At these speeds, even rain can erode the leading edge, and reduce the turbine’s efficiency. Even a small amount of erosion can lead to a significant drop in annual energy production.
Aerones is a leader in robotic wind turbine operations and maintenance (O&M) services, and the only company providing robotic turbine blade leading edge repairs across more than 27 countries worldwide. Using unique patented robotic technology, crucial tasks are performed 3x – 6x faster, with up to 10x less idle stay days than using conventional methods. Aerones mission is to use its proprietary technology to reduce the complexity and cost of inspections, thus facilitating the faster global transition to renewable energy.
The Innovation Fund is one of the world’s largest funding programmes for the deployment of net-zero and innovative technologies and is a key funding instrument for delivering the EU’s economy-wide commitments. It focuses on energy and industry by helping to develop solutions to decarbonise European industry and support its transition to climate neutrality while fostering competitiveness. This fund is helping to bring breakthrough technologies to market in energy-intensive industries, renewable energy, and energy storage.
Grant project contract signing is scheduled for June 2024 after project readiness assessments.
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!
Past Events
Wind experts presented industry and academia research priorities at ZF Wind Power Factory
More than 190 experts from the wind energy R&I community have recommended 23 short-term R&I priorities – needed to deliver a competitive and resilient wind industry in Europe.
The R&I priorities cover 5 main areas:
- Industrialisation, scale-up and competitiveness
- Optimisation and further digitalisation of Operations & Maintenance
- Wind energy system integration
- Sustainability and circularity
- Skills and coexistence
ETIPWind estimates that the total public investment (EU and national) needed to address these priorities would amount to €1.8bn for the 3-year period 2025-2027. This is more than double the level of public investment in wind energy R&I up to today.
ETIPWind presented the SRIA to the European Commission and National Governments on 4 December, at a launch event in the Belgian factory of the gearbox manufacturer ZF.
For more details of the new priorities and the launch event.
Events
WindEurope Annual Event 2024
The countdown is on to our biggest gathering of the year – WindEurope’s Annual Event 2024. And we’re returning to the welcoming setting of the Basque Country, for a three-day conference and exhibition in Bilbao from 20-22 March.
Across 40+ sessions, you’ll hear about the latest EU and national policy initiatives – what they mean for the industry and how you can get the most out of them for your business. There’ll be industry CEOs and Government Ministers from Europe and beyond, together with community, financial and educational thought-leaders. Beyond the conference rooms, there’ll be 400+ companies and institutions on show on the exhibition floor – together with a Startup Pavilion profiling up-and-coming industry brands.
Networking will be the name of the game at Bilbao. With 12,000+ attendees over three days, hundreds of speakers and companies and dozens of social and side events, this is the ideal spot to reach out to new contacts, strike new deals and to reconnect with old colleagues.
Wind energy in Europe has held its ground through many challenges. Now is the time to prove our value and our worth to Europe as a whole. Bilbao is a chance to see the industry at our best.
See you in Bilbao!
WindEurope Technology Workshop 2024 – Call for Abstracts closes soon!
WindEurope’s Technology Workshop is back from 10-11 June! 400+ technical experts from across the value chain will be meeting in Dublin to weigh up the latest in resource assessment, analysis of wind farm operations, AI and beyond.
If you’re looking to strengthen wind farm output, to stay on top of future challenges, or to rendezvous with your technical peers – this event is tailor-made for you!
We’ve launched a call for abstracts to define the scope of the event programme – and to put burning technical issues on the agenda. We’ve drawn up a list of suggested topics – under the headings of Resource Assessment and Analysis of Operating Wind Farms. Check out the guidelines, and click here to submit your abstracts! The deadline is in less than two weeks’ time, on 26 January. We look forward to hearing from you!
Feel free to get in touch with our team if you have any questions in the meantime. See you in Dublin this June!
WindEnergy Hamburg 2024
WindEnergy Hamburg, the world’s biggest wind industry gathering returns later this year, from 24-27 September. WindEurope will be present onsite as the event’s European Partner – with a dedicated stage and sessions during the conference.
Registrations will open soon but you can still book your stand.
WindEurope Careers
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 some testimonials from our team on our careers page – plus a full list of WindEurope benefits. And see our current job openings below:
