WindEurope Bulletin
WindEurope Bulletin June 2024
5 June 2024
A word from the CEO
Dear WindEurope member,
This weekend millions of Europeans will elect their representatives to the European Parliament for the next five years. The importance of this election cannot be overstated.
The European Parliament helps make laws that impact the growth of renewables in Europe. They have played a crucial role putting into law the EU’s commitment to become climate neutral by 2050. And legislation they passed has simplified the permitting of new wind farms and grids – and enshrined the EU’s new target of 42.5% renewables in energy by 2030.
The new Parliament will hopefully keep this up. But there are risks. Far-right parties are gaining ground. And most of them are against renewables. This election is all about turnout and which side gets more of its supporters to go and vote – those who are sceptical about action on climate and clean energy or those in the mainstream who understand its importance.
So it’s vital that we make ourselves heard. The wind industry employs 350,000 people in Europe. Together we bring security, jobs and investment to all Europeans. And wind energy is key in the fight against climate change. Just as our industry does every day, let’s show our support for the values Europe stands for. Let’s make sure we all get out and vote this week..
The first thing the new Parliament will do is appoint the new European Commission for the next five years. What do we want from the new EU Parliament and Commission?
We’ve five simple asks from the EU for the next 5 years:
- Invest massively in electricity grids;
- Accelerate permitting for renewables, industry and grids;
- Help heavy industry to electrify;
- Ensure a level playing field for Europe’s clean tech manufacturing; and
- Focus innovation on scaling-up.
These 5 things are essential if the EU wants to meet its goal of nearly doubling wind energy capacity by 2030. You can read more about our asks here – or listen to our analysis in this short video.
Now events. WindEurope’s Technology Workshop is in Dublin next week from 10-11 June – looking at resource assessment and analysis of operating wind farms. There’ll be 14 conference sessions over two days and 450+ wind energy experts joining from across Europe. There’s still time to register – click here.
And EoLIS – our annual conference on end-of-life, repowering and circularity issues – is in Gothenburg, Sweden from 4-5 December. More details to follow on this soon.
Finally a quick reminder that WindEurope’s Annual General Assembly takes place on 26 June – with the biennial elections to the WindEurope Board. It’s in the Art & History Museum in the Cinquantenaire park in Brussels – click here to register. Online participation and voting is also possible. The Assembly will be followed by our Summer Reception, also at the Museum – you can register for it here.
Kind regards,
Giles Dickson
Go Vote!
Our wind, our values – Cast your vote for wind this week!
The future is in your hands. We need a greener energy system for Europe – and at the European elections this week, we can send a signal to our policymakers to make it happen! It’s time to step up to the plate – and cast your vote for the energy transition!
Read more about WindEurope’s asks for the new European Parliament here.
WindEurope Intelligence Platform
Wind Turbine Orders Monitoring – 2023
This report summarises the announced wind turbine orders last year. It also provides a market analysis of the industry based on the number of orders, capacity ordered, sellers, buyers and other sectorial and technology indicators.
WindEurope also reports turbine orders on a quarterly basis. You can find the wind turbine orders, trends and analysis for Q4 2023 here.
You can also make use of our interactive tool for tailor-made analysis. Filter your preferred country and turbine supplier, check historical data, get updates on technological developments and more.
Members’ Successes
The Renewable Construction Academy (RECOA) sets educational standard for offshore wind and draws talent from transitioning industries
Aspirational targets to build hundreds of GW of offshore wind around the world in the coming decades are to be cheered. But if these goals are to be achieved, we need to make up for lost time in educating and training the next generation of sector professionals.
Based on four years of project experience as a benchmark, RECOA has found the following:
|
Global average |
% of project team with less than one project experience |
% of project team with one project experience |
% of project team with two or more project experiences |
Yearly installed capacity |
|
2014 |
56% |
29% |
15% |
1,043 MW |
|
2018 |
68% |
25% |
7% |
5,076 MW |
|
2022 |
74% |
20% |
6% |
9,433 MW |
Put another way, currently, on average, 1 of every 4 members of a project team will need to go above and beyond to shoulder the additional responsibility of channelling their insights and knowledge to colleagues. The lack of a structured education framework for most roles identified in offshore wind further amplifies this challenge and organisational burden.
Considering an expected rise of 191% in installed offshore wind capacity in the next five years 2022-2028, we are on a path where the workforce across the entire sectoral value chain needs to more than double to avoid this fate. As it stands now, we could see the experience ratio on developments stagnate, with only 4-5% of a project team with more than six years in the field and 77-79% with ‘less than one project’ worth of experience in 2028.
Industry-specific, standardised, and recognised, online and accessible training is required.
The Renewable Construction Academy has achieved this by accelerating education and training in offshore renewable energy through its industry-standard framework that is built on distilled industry expertise as well as globally recognised education standards. By forming partnerships with subject matter experts across the entire industry value chain, the Academy has initiated the development of modular built programmes, with fundamental skillset training combined with role-specific education, raising the standard of knowledge implementation and creating clearer career trajectories for both newcomers and renewable professionals transitioning between roles or careers.
Years of stakeholder involvement and industry support have shaped RECOA’s educational framework and driven the demand for targeted skill development. RECOA is actively working with a number of global institutions to align standards to ensure the same level of quality and recognition is achieved globally.
The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), a key stakeholder and industry advocate, has committed to supporting RECOA in the evaluation process, validating and endorsing industry-developed materials through RECOA. GWEC’s backing will facilitate the exploration of new avenues to accelerate the development and implementation of education and courses.
Significant industry players including SSE Renewables, bp, RWE, Semco, Copenhagen Offshore Partners, a number of undisclosed State Governments and other supply chain companies have already signed up for RECOA’s industry-leading training, giving their teams a competitive advantage.
RECOA is currently inviting new Academy Partners who are committed to supporting the development of the next generation of Renewable Professionals to join them.
Member Report: Driving a Future-Proof, Skills Based Approach for the Renewable Energy Sector (AON)
The renewable energy sector is undergoing a sweeping transformation, as it plays a pivotal role in the challenge to achieve global net-zero goals. Attracting, upskilling and retaining talent is critical for sustainability.
Global renewable power capacity is expected to grow by 2,400 GW over the period from 2022 to 2027, equivalent to China’s current total power capacity. Recent estimates suggest that, by 2030, there will be a global shortage of seven million skilled workers required for climate and energy projects. This green skills gap is especially acute in solar, wind, and biofuels technologies — key pillars of the energy transition. The wind energy workforce in 2024 accounts for 360,000 workers – the forecast is that this number will jump to 550,000 by 2030, a growth of more than 50%.
Developing workforce agility and resilience is crucial for a successful energy transition and must be integrated into the fabric of an organisation.
Aon asked HR Leaders in the renewable energy sector how they are dealing with talent and skills shortages. The sector must focus on attracting high-potential and diverse candidate pools to address this shortage of key talent. In order to effectively tackle the gap, a level of standarisation and consistency of skills taxonomies is critical to success. Using market data and benchmarking is a key ingredient to build a focused skills-based talent framework to underpin people strategy.
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!
Member’s interview: bp
This month, we sat down with Bart Oberink, Vice-President for Offshore Wind, Continental Europe, bp and Ina Kamps, Head of Offshore Wind, Germany, bp to discuss their activity and experiences in the German offshore wind market.
Events
Technology Workshop 2024 – Everything you need to know ahead of next week!
WindEurope’s annual conference looking at resource assessment and operating wind farm analysis finally gets underway next Monday. We’ll be welcoming you to Dublin for a two-day gathering at the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road – with opportunities to network at memorable local venues and swap notes with 450+ attendees from across Europe.
Registration is closing soon – register here if you haven’t already! Please note that there will be no registration onsite. Here are some other useful links to help you plan your visit:
- Need help getting to the venue? Take a look at our page with directions here.
- Looking for accommodation? Use our dedicated page here for last-minute deals.
- Still not sure which sessions to attend? Check out our programme here.
- Want to learn more about Dublin while you’re in town? See our travel page here.
- Meet our sponsors and exhibitors onsite.
- Curious about the posters presenting onsite? Here’s the full list.
Otherwise please get in touch with our team if you have any questions ahead of the Workshop!
We’ll see you in Dublin next week!
WindEnergy Hamburg 2024
WindEnergy Hamburg, the world’s biggest wind industry event 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. Pass by to say hello to the WindEurope team at Stand 310
Registration is now open! Click here to see the different ticket options and book your visit now! We’ll see you in September.
RE-Source 2024 – Save the date
The 2024 RE-Source Event will take place later this year from 24-25 October in Amsterdam. Since our first event in 2017, RE-Source has become a key annual gathering in the renewables calendar. It is the ideal place to meet renewable corporate buyers and sellers.
What can you look forward to at RE-Source 2024?
- A chance to network with 1,400+ participants.
- Learn from and engage with 100+ senior political and industry speakers.
- Join one of the 350+ prescheduled B2B meetings between clean energy buyers and suppliers.
Registration will open soon! Stay tuned!
WindEurope’s End-of-Life Issues & Strategies Seminar
EoLIS – WindEurope’s End-of-Life Issues & Strategies Seminar – is our annual get-together looking at the challenges and possibilities for our older turbine fleets. Check out the photos and video from our last edition in Rotterdam.
This year we’ll be heading to Gothenburg from 4-5 December for a two-day roundup of all the latest developments in the field of turbine end-of-life. It’s your chance to meet and share insights with 250+ other experts in sustainability and turbine design from right across Europe and beyond. Let us know if you have interesting case studies or projects to share.
Stay tuned for more information and we’ll see you in December.