WindEurope Bulletin
WindEurope Bulletin March 2025
6 March 2025
A word from the CEO
Dear WindEurope member,
Next month is the WindEurope Annual Event. In Copenhagen – 8-10 April. We’re expecting over 15,000 people. 550 companies are exhibiting. And the conference features Ministers from all over Europe and the EU Commissioner for Energy – and dozens of industry leaders.
The theme is “scale up, electrify, deliver”. It’s about how wind can help strengthen Europe’s competitiveness, energy security and geopolitical autonomy. The conference will cover the physical and cyber security of wind farms, fighting disinformation, strengthening the supply chain… plus permitting, grids, auction design, ports/vessels, and the landfill ban and other sustainability issues.
The full programme is here. And you can click here to register. The Ministerial sessions are at 9am each day.
You may have seen we’ve just released the full wind energy statistics for Europe in 2024. And our new outlook for how much new wind we now expect Europe to build every year between now and 2030, broken down by country. Quick headlines:
- Europe built 16.4 GW new wind in 2024;
- FIDs in new wind farms were €32bn, covering 20 GW of new capacity;
- 37 GW of new wind farms won auctions, 19 GW in Germany; and
- We now expect Europe to build 22.5 GW this year, 28.6 GW in 2026, 30.5 GW in 2027, 31.8 GW in 2028, 35.5 GW in 2029 and 38.4 GW in 2030. With the new GW built over the next 6 years breaking down 75% onshore and 25% offshore.
What does Europe make of Trump and the new world order? The EU is waiting to see what happens on tariffs. But they’re crystal clear that now it’s more important than ever that they strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy. And energy security is central to that.
As part of this the EU Commission has just published its Clean Industrial Deal, its flagship policy to support Europe’s energy-intensive industries and strengthen its clean tech supply chains. Alongside it there’s also a new “Affordable Energy Action Plan” to try to reduce energy costs for consumers and industry – which is paying at least 2-3x as much for energy as its competitors in the US and China.
There are a lot of good things in the package:
- a €100bn Industrial Decarbonisation Bank to give CapEx and OpEx support to heavy industry to electrify;
- a Grids Supply Chain initiative. The EU gets it on the bottlenecks in grid equipment manufacturing; and
- a new PPA guarantee facility run by the European Investment Bank.
The central message is industry must electrify to be competitive, and they must electrify with renewables. So we need more RES more quickly. And there’s a further push on RES permitting too. For a quick and lively summary of the Clean Industrial Deal I recommend this excellent video from our Chief Policy Officer Pierre Tardieu.
Kind regards,
Giles Dickson
WindEurope Intelligence Platform
Wind energy in Europe: 2024 Statistics and the outlook for 2025-2030
This report summarises new installations and financing activity in Europe’s wind farms from 1 January to 31 December 2024. It also analyses how European markets will develop in the next six years (2025 to 2030). The outlook is based on WindEurope internal analysis and consultation with its members.
Members’ Successes
RWE and TotalEnergies select Den Helder as operations and maintenance base for OranjeWind offshore wind project
RWE and TotalEnergies have selected the Port of Den Helder in the Dutch province of North Holland as the home base for OranjeWind, their joint offshore wind project in the North Sea. Blue Port Centre, the former fish auction building, will serve as the onshore hub for the operation and maintenance teams of the wind farm. To this end, the project has signed a lease agreement with the co-operative association Blue Port Centre, the owner of the building.
As the Netherlands’ largest electricity producer, RWE is preparing for the construction of the wind farm, located approximately 80 km from the port of Den Helder in the North Sea, in close collaboration with joint venture partner TotalEnergies.
Matthias Esken, OranjeWind Project Director: “The multifunctionality of the Blue Port Centre and its quay-side location makes it a perfect fit for our operations and maintenance of our Dutch North Sea wind project. The proximity and accessibility of Den Helder port and airport provide an efficient logistical solution for reaching our wind farm, enhancing our operational flexibility.”
With a capacity of 795 MW, OranjeWind is RWE and TotalEnergies’ first offshore wind project in the Netherlands. On behalf of the joint venture, RWE is taking the lead on the development, construction and operation of the wind farm. In October, both companies also agreed to jointly develop two large offshore wind projects, off the German coast. Separately, each company also has multiple offshore wind projects under construction and in operation in the British and German North Sea, with RWE also constructing the Thor wind farm in Danish waters. TotalEnergies has a strong advantage in offshore wind thanks to the skills and the team’s long experience in operating offshore exploration and production assets, as for instance in the Netherlands.
Kees Turnhout, General Director of Port of Den Helder: “The Port of Den Helder welcomes the OranjeWind team to our port for the operation and maintenance of the offshore wind project. Our Port is a specialised O&M port for the offshore sector, with a fully equipped supply chain for this purpose. Together with Den Helder Airport, we can extend two strong logistical arms over the North Sea, both by water and by air. In the coming years, we are committed to facilitating the maintenance of wind farms and other forms of sustainable energy production. Between now and 2030, we will double the number of berths in our port. The establishment of the OranjeWind O&M base is a significant development in this strategy!”
Pim Visser, Director of the Blue Port Centre: “It is fantastic that the OranjeWind team has also chosen our Blue Port Centre. Our former fish auction building, still owned by regional fishermen, will get a new purpose after a significant renovation. The building will be nearly ‘energy neutral’ with super-insulated walls and roofs, solar panels, heating with heat pumps, and top cooling based on the temperature of the groundwater. Located on the deep-water quay, it is perfectly suited as a base for the maintenance of offshore wind farms. With the arrival of OranjeWind, two-thirds of the building is now occupied.”
In 2026, the OranjeWind project will start using the Blue Port Centre to support the construction phase of the wind farm. The Blue Port Centre will house offices, changing rooms, and storage facilities. The operation and maintenance activities of the wind farm will be conducted using a Service Operation Vessel (SOV), which will transport technicians between the port and the wind farm, with the crew staying at sea for weeks at a time.
When fully commissioned in early 2028, OranjeWind’s 53 wind turbines will produce an expected 3 TWh annually – enough green electricity to power more than one million Dutch households.
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
VSB Group
© Ben Gierig / Gierig media
This month, we sat down with Dr. Felix Grolman, CEO of the VSB Group, to discuss their nearly 30 years of experience in renewables, the standout challenges for our industry right now and their work on hybrid parks and battery storage
Webinars
Offshore Wind in Europe 2024: Trends and statistics
Following on from the release of our upcoming 2024 offshore wind statistics report, Clara Castelli (Press & Communications Officer), Mattia Cecchinato (Offshore Wind Manager), Lizet Ramirez (Senior Analyst – Wind Energy Supply Chain) and Alexandre Fremaux (Analyst – Offshore Wind) will be hosting a special webinar to unpack developments in the European offshore wind industry last year. We will be outlining key offshore installations, supply chain activity, investment trends, and policy developments.
This will be followed by a Q&A session for participants.
European Innovation Council calls 2025
The European Innovation Council is the EU’s funding programme aimed at identifying, developing, and scaling-up breakthrough technologies and game changing innovations.
The EIC offers funding throughout the lifecycle from early-stage research, to proof of concept, technology transfer, and the financing and scale up of start-ups and SMEs. It comes under the Horizon Europe programme and has a total budget of €10.1bn.
This year the European Commission is offering €1.4bn in funding for technology research and start-ups with high potential. Depending on the call candidates can apply for funding up until May, September or October.
To support your application, WindEurope is hosting a members-only webinar on Wednesday 19 March, 15:00-16:30 CET. Experts from WindEurope and ABGI will provide you with the guidance you’ll need to make a successful application!
Events
WindEurope Annual Event 2025 – One month to go!
Join us in Copenhagen in four weeks’ time as we take a look at all things wind, and start to plan for a revitalised, competitive European economy backed by wind energy.
Here’s our three-day programme – with 70+ sessions and 350+ speakers taking part from across Europe and beyond. We’ll be covering a huge scope of industry topics including:
- The main bottlenecks – permitting, grids, the supply chain.
- Protecting biodiversity – and Europe’s landfill ban.
- Community engagement & disinformation.
- What’s happening with floating wind.
- Physical and cyber-security threats.
Remember to visit our exhibition as well – with 550+ companies from the entire supply chain of wind. And do join us too at our social and side events – ranging from topical roundtables and workshops to informal receptions with good food and drink!
We hope you’ll have the chance to meet new contacts, swap notes and build lasting partnerships to drive our sector in the years ahead. See you next month!
Technology Workshop 2025 – AI4Blades Challenge
Introducing the AI4Blades Challenge – a chance for you to access real-world data for cutting-edge research, developing AI and machine learning solutions to boost wind turbine performance!
How does it work?
- Candidate groups work with BAM’s KI-VISIR raw dataset which includes over 2,200 high-res images and 1,200 thermograms.
- Submit a team proposal.
- Finalists are invited to present at WindEurope’s Technology Workshop 2025 from 19-20 June in Istanbul.
- After a special jury evaluation, the winning team will get a cash prize of €3,000!
This is a chance to make a lasting contribution to industry knowledge, and to work as part of a team of experts in AI, data science and beyond. If you and a group of colleagues are interested, check out the Terms & Conditions and apply before 31 March!
Careers
By joining WindEurope, you will be working at the cutting edge of wind energy policy: what we do here positively affects the future of Europe and the wider world as well.
Become a part of our team and see how you can help shape Europe’s energy transition! 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:
