WindEurope Bulletin
WindEurope Bulletin May 2020
7 May 2020
Giles DicksonCEO Foreword
Dear WindEurope Member,
We are living in extraordinary times. And the recovery from this pandemic will require extraordinary measures. Wind energy is already doing its part in getting Europe through this crisis. Normal life may be on pause, but the wind keeps blowing. Our turbines keep turning. And our industry keeps delivering clean electricity to our homes, hospitals, businesses and transport networks. You may have seen our new video on that, here’s the link – it’s an important message, so please do share it widely.
Yesterday we announced the decision to postpone WindEnergy Hamburg, our joint event with Hamburg Messe und Congress, until 1-4 December. We are pleased that this gathering, the world’s largest wind energy event, will still go ahead this year. The big ambitions of the EU Green Deal, and the economic recovery plans Europe is putting in place now, make 2020 a pivotal year for the energy transition. The further expansion of wind energy is central to the Green Deal and will deliver jobs and investments needed for recovery. Meeting in Hamburg, a key hub for our industry and when Germany has the Presidency of the EU, will be the perfect time and place to show that the wind industry is ready to deliver
17 out of 27 EU Member States have made a strongly-worded appeal to the EU to keep the climate crisis high on the agenda when developing recovery plans to address the impacts of COVID-19. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen strongly supports this and sees the Green Deal as the motor of economic recovery. And at WindEurope we have been pulling out all the stops to get the message out on this over the recent weeks. On 20 April the CEOs of our 22 board member companies had a 90-minute videoconference with European Commission Executive Vice-President in charge of the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans, and Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson. They discussed the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, our challenges with permitting, electrification and system integration, and supply chain competitiveness. The Commission were very receptive to our messages and asked us to define the low-hanging fruit of how they can best support us to deliver investments and generate jobs and growth in the coming 12-18 months.
The Commission is expected to announce its plans for boosting economy recovery this month. It looks like the stimulus package will be very good news for our industry. But let’s be frank. It is no use receiving lots of money for wind projects if wind farms are difficult to build. Permitting is still a huge issue for our industry. We have stressed that to the Commission. A precondition for a smart green recovery is that governments sort out their permitting rules. We are proposing very practical measures to the European Commission to lean on Member States and address this challenge.
As you know, our Technology Workshop on Resource Assessment & Analysis of Operating Wind Farms has been moved fully online and will take place on the 8-11 June. You can see the complete programme for that here.
Finally, I hope this message finds you and yours well. Do keep letting us know if there are any issues we can help you with. Our staff remain at your full disposal.
Take care.
Giles Dickson
Looking for a nice bedtime story about wind energy?
Last year we published Let the Wind Blow – a free children’s book explaining wind energy and why it’s so important for our planet.
The book is available in 15 languages – be sure to check it out and download in your language for any younger (or older) readers you know!
Business Intelligence Spotlight
Wind Turbine Orders Monitoring Report
This report summarises the announced wind turbine orders for 2019 and Q1 of 2020. It also provides a market analysis of the industry based on the number of orders, capacity ordered, sellers, buyers and other sectoral and technology indicators.
Members’ Interview
We sat down with Smart Wires’ Susanne Nies to talk everything from getting on- and offshore wind onto the grid to the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ and the importance of networks in the ‘second phase’ of the energy transition.
Members’ News
Port of Amsterdam to develop new 15-hectare base for the construction and maintenance of wind farms
In collaboration with the province of North Holland, the municipality of Velsen, Tata Steel and Port of Ijmuiden, Port of Amsterdam is developing Energiehaven, a new 15-hectare energy port.
The Energiehaven will prove crucial to the construction of offshore wind farms in the North Sea. Located on the North Seaside, in front of the sea locks in Ijmuiden, it will be the ideal base for the installation, construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms in the North Sea.
The new energy port will also play an important role in space intensification and the strengthening of the port infrastructure.
Wind turbine blades for new Iberdrola wind energy project arrive at Port of Bilbao
The 42 blades for the wind turbines will form part of Iberdrola’s new Puylobo wind farm project in Aragón, Spain.
The €50 million Puylobo wind farm will consist of 14 units of SG 3.4-132 wind turbines; a model with a 64.5m long blade, optimal for medium and high wind sites. Over 120 professionals will be involved in its construction. Once the park is in operation later this year, it will supply clean energy to a population equivalent to 20,000 homes per year and will prevent the emission of 32,000 tons of CO2 per year.
The rest of the wind turbine elements – towers, nacelles/hubs, generators, gearboxes and transformers – are being manufactured at facilities in Asturias, Cantabria, Soria and Burgos. The manufacturers also have a storage terminal in the Port of Bilbao itself. Port stevedores and companies such as Servicios Logísticos Portuarios (SLP) and Transporte Aguado have taken active part in the unloading and subsequent transfer operations.
Events
WindEnergy Hamburg will happen in 2020 – but not until December
Following intense consultations with Hamburg Messe und Congress and our partners at GWEC, VDMA and BWE, we have agreed on new dates for the event:
1-4 December 2020
We regret that we cannot keep the event as planned. But the fact that it is happening at all this year is excellent news for our industry: the current circumstances have made this event even more essential.
The EU wants to put the Green Deal at the heart of its economic recovery plans from the COVID-19 crisis. Our industry is ready to deliver.
But creating new paths through this crisis also means creating new facets in our event. This year, given the current circumstances, the event’s format is set to change:
Parts of the WindEurope Premium Conference and the WindEnergy Hamburg expo might be entirely repurposed for digital platforms.
Other areas of the event will remain as planned.
We will also introduce hybrid fusions, incorporating both in-person and online content.
In past years, WindEnergy Hamburg has gathered 35,000 visitors from over 100 countries in Hamburg for the world’s largest wind energy event. The situation on the ground is still evolving, and we are closely monitoring the circumstances in order to put together an event that is accessible, top-quality, and – more than anything – safe.
We will keep you updated regularly as the situation develops.
If you have any questions, please see the dedicated FAQ, or get in touch with us or the WindEnergy Hamburg team.
Webinar on end-of-life issues: join us for a lively discussion about life-time extension, repowering and permitting
When: 27 May, 15:00-16:00 CEST
In this free webinar, WindEurope and UL experts will discuss the latest developments on End-of-Life issues in wind energy today.
Webinar themes & speakers:
- Repowering trends
Ivan Komusanac, Analyst, Markets & Wind Energy Technology, WindEurope - Life-time extension
Jose Javier Ripa, Business Development Manager, Europe & LATAM, UL International - EoLIS programme
Maliya Lazli, Conference Programme Officer, WindEurope
Save the date: Can your team win WindEurope’s Online Pub Quiz on Global Wind Day?
When: 15 June, Global Wind Day
Think you know about wind energy? Pop culture? General knowledge? Think your team has what it takes to compete against the wind community?
Form your team with your colleagues and be in with a chance to win exclusive prizes!
Do you want to sponsor our quiz?
For just €1,500 you will get:
- Visibility throughout the entire quiz, with your logo on all quiz slides (30 questions)
- Your logo on dedicated emails sent to promote the quiz
- Logo on all social media banners
- Include 5 of your own questions; and
- You will have the opportunity to announce the top 3 winners at the end of the quiz!
Interested? Contact Rebekka Taylor today
Workshop on permitting: how to get your wind farm permitted in Europe today… and in the coming decades
When: 2 June, 09:30-16:00 CEST
Europe needs five times more wind energy capacity in 2050 than it has today to decarbonise its economy. But these volumes will remain purely academic if we don’t get permitting right. What bottlenecks do we still face today? How can these be tackled? How do we best engage communities? And how do we communicate to different audiences on the permitting issues we face across Europe?
Join us in finding the answers to all these questions during our permitting workshop. The workshop will be divided in two parts:
Part one – Regulatory and administrative barriers to onshore permitting; and
Part two – Political communication that can help solve our permitting issues.
See the agenda (Member’s Area only)
Interested?
RSVP to Diletta Zeni or Marylise Schmid to confirm your participation.
WindEurope Sofa Talks: Want to stay up to date with what’s happening in wind energy these days?
Europe is working from home! Make yourself a cup of coffee and join WindEurope experts as we bring you all the latest from the world of wind energy, directly from our sofas to your sofa!
WindEurope Sofa Talks is our ongoing series of free interactive webinars dedicated to the most important issues facing wind energy today.
Join the thousands of attendees who have tuned into our Sofa Talks, where we tackle topics ranging from recycling to finance, from the EU’s Climate Law to industrial strategy and more.
This is your chance to get one-to-one insights from Europe’s leading wind energy experts as they set out the current state-of-play and answer your questions in real time.
Register for the webinars See the programme of upcoming webinars
Our next Sofa Talk: How can the European Green Deal help deliver the 450 GW of wind by 2050
When: Thursday 14 May, 15:00 CEST
Europe wants to be climate-neutral by 2050. The European Commission says that to achieve net-zero emissions, up to 450 GW of offshore wind would be needed. How could the European Green Deal make this a reality? What are the key actions that policymakers should take? How is the industry preparing to deliver on this challenge? This Sofa Talk will discuss these questions and will bring the perspective of three leading players in offshore wind.
Speakers:
- Sven Utermöhlen, Designated COO Wind Offshore Global of RWE Renewables GmbH
- Zac Richardson, Head of Interconnectors, National Grid Ventures
- Jan-Mark van Mastwijk, Business Unit Director UK & NL, Deme Offshore
Moderator:
- Ivan Pineda, Director of Public Affairs, WindEurope
Resource Assessment & Analysis of Operating Wind Farms will be held entirely online
Following the latest developments of the COVID 19 pandemic, and because the safety of our delegates is extremely important to us, we have decided to turn this year’s edition of the Technology Workshop into an online event.
When: 8-11 June
Where: This year, the workshop will take place online from your offices or sofas!
What: 4 half-days, from 13:00 until 18:00. Join 500 other technical experts for sessions on:
- The potential of advanced digitalisation of both resource and operational assessment (machine learning and big data);
- LiDARs and modelling the resource;
- The impact of blockage and wake effects on the resource;
- The impact of climate change on the resource;
- And much more
Our online event platform will allow for:
- Dynamic matching for the B2B networking
- Shorter and more interactive sessions (polling, interactive Q&As and gaming)
- Online poster sessions
Save the date: End-of-Life Issues and Strategies Seminar (EoLIS) 2020
When: 19-20 November
Where: Brussels
This year, EoLIS will be a 2-day event: Day 1 will focus on “Making the most of existing sites” while Day 2 will focus on “Optimising solutions for wind farm closures.”
High-level plenaries on every aspect of end-of-life issues – repowering, lifetime extension, decommissioning, recycling, etc. – will be followed by break-out workshop sessions.
There will also be networking sessions every day between those involved in the operational and investment sides of the end-of-life conversation.
Save the date: RE-Source 2020, the world’s largest gathering of renewable energy buyers and suppliers is back
When: 9-11 December
Where: Amsterdam
After fantastic feedback to last year’s event, we have decided to continue our corporate renewable energy sourcing discussions in the same location: the exquisite Hotel Okura.
With more markets opening up to the corporate renewable sourcing opportunity, RE-Source 2020 is the perfect platform to network, learn and do business with key players from both the buyer and supplier side.
This year, we’ll have further B2B matchmaking activities, deep dive breakout sessions and we’re extending the meetings to include more diverse buyer and supplier groups.
Please note: The two last editions of RE-Source sold out in advance – so be sure to have it in your calendar.
Over 50% of exhibition space already sold for WindEurope Electric City 2021: Europe’s largest on- and offshore wind energy event
When: 27-29 April
Where: Copenhagen
Electric City is a unique event that brings the entire wind industry together with players from beyond wind.
We’re inviting players from storage, hybrids, shipping, mobility, the automotive sector, and many other industries eager to green their power mix. Electric City is where you will:
- Diversify your partnerships;
- Meet new customers; and
- Take your place at the core of an electrified European power mix
Stands are selling out fast. Check out our stand prices here.
Partnered Events
Hybrid Renewables Conference: where wind, solar and storage combine to drive forward the next generation of renewables
When: 8 October
Where: Solarplaza, Amsterdam
As of today, there are more than 25 hybrid projects worldwide (in all stages of development), amounting to 8 GW of wind, 5.7 GW of solar and 120 MW of storage. And this is just the start… This October, WindEurope has joined SolarPlaza as the strategic partner at the Hybrid Renewables Conference. This event will gather dozens of high-level speakers including public decision makers and experts from the field of renewable energy, with over 200 participants ranging from international and local stakeholders, investors and project developers, to EPC’s IPP’s and manufacturers.
The programme will feature topics including:
- Hybrid Renewable Power Plants
- Siting Hybrid Projects
- Hybridization of operational plants
- Alternative hybrid structures
