WindEurope Bulletin September 2024

A word from the CEO

Dear WindEurope member,

I hope you had a good summer.

A few weeks ago Ursula von der Leyen was elected for a second five-year term as President of the European Commission. Her new team of 27 Commissioners will take office before the end of the year. The new Commission will continue to pursue the main elements of the Green Deal, notably the accelerated build-out of renewables, now with added focus on grid build-out (good). But they’ll broaden the Green Deal into a Clean Industrial Deal, with increased focus on clean tech manufacturing and on the decarbonisation and strengthening of Europe’s energy-intensive industries such as steel and chemicals.

This is all good stuff. Not least since the energy-intensive industries are such an integral part of the wind energy supply chain. And big consumers of the power we produce. Electricity demand is not growing fast enough. Electricity remains stuck at only 23% of Europe’s energy mix. If we can help heavy industry to electrify we will create significant additional demand for power. We’re pushing the new Commission – and the new European Parliament – to prioritise electrification, ideally with a new target of getting electricity up to 35% of energy by 2030. This also needs a big push in parallel on grids, storage and interconnectors – we can’t keep building more wind farms if they aren’t connected to consumers. You can read more about our key asks here.

The 27 EU Member States support all of this. On energy they have recently committed to:

• Secure a supply of abundant affordable and clean energy;
• Electrify, invest in grids, storage and interconnectors;
• Scale-up manufacturing capacity for net-zero technologies and products;
• Secure strategic supply chains; and
• Safeguard fair competition.

Between this and the Commission’s renewed ambition, the message is clear – Europe’s energy transition is still top of the agenda – and we’ll make sure we’re able to deliver it.

The change of Government in the UK is proving to be very positive for wind. They’ve lifted the de facto ban on new onshore wind in England – and want to double onshore and quadruple offshore wind capacity by 2030. The French elections were much less clear. It was a relief for wind that the far-right didn’t come to power, but we still don’t know what sort of Government will emerge.

Now a quick word about events this autumn:

• RE-Source returns to Amsterdam on 24-25 October. It’s a chance to hear more about PPAs and opportunities for green energy procurement. You can register here.
• The Renewable Hydrogen Summit is back in Brussels on 7 November – with key policymakers and industry CEOs taking part. You can sign up here.
• EoLIS, our annual workshop on repowering and other end-of-life issues, is in Gothenburg on 4-5 December. We’ll be opening registrations next week.

Kind regards,

Giles Dickson

WindEurope Intelligence Platform

Offshore wind energy 2024 mid-year statistics

In the first half of 2024, 1,057 MW (124 turbines) of offshore wind capacity was connected to the grid, representing 28% of the year’s projected installations. Nearly 20 GW of new offshore wind capacity has reached Final Investment Decision (FID) and is expected to be installed within the next three and a half years. Europe’s total installed offshore wind capacity now stands at 35.2 GW.

Find out more

Members’ Successes

Turning the tide – sustainable innovation for a green future (Fugro)

Many geological mappers have been striving for years to meticulously map every rock strata and soil layer, every feature on and below the sea bed. To use new digital technologies to convert this raw data into crucial insights and predictions, enabling more accurate, cost-efficient and sustainable construction decisions.

This vision has been driving leaders in the geoscientific investigation sector like Fugro for decades. Now, with AI, cloud-based data and robotics adding a new dimension of speed and accuracy for the mapping, modelling and monitoring of some of the largest types of infrastructure in the world, it is fast becoming a reality.

Geo-data for wind power development

With a focus on sustainability, safety and productivity, Fugro is revolutionising the way we collect and extract value from geo-data – the crucial information needed to assess the risk and engineering competence of sites for wind turbines, cable routes and related assets.

Here are three areas seeing big changes.

Mapping with robotics and remote technology

As offshore wind turbines get larger and floating substructures are sited in harsher environments, the challenges of mobilising equipment and people to survey data to help design, install and maintain them are growing.

Controlled from a great distance using autonomous technology, our remotely operated vessels are providing real-time geo-data and reducing the risk to people, while also cutting their carbon footprint.

Ground modelling with AI

Our specialists are getting the best out of AI in the creation of ground models, using it to accurately extrapolate values from multiple data streams to fill in the gaps of ground features and conditions. The result is a continuous, full perspective subsurface view of ground composition, including anomalies and risks, which otherwise would be time and cost-prohibitive to collect by traditional methods while incurring a greater carbon footprint.

Adding life cycle value with monitoring data

Sophisticated algorithms can be used to create a digital replica – or Digital Twin – of energy infrastructure and its surrounding natural environment, with the facility to predict how they will behave and interact in the future.

These powerful, integrated data models can harness on-going streams of vital information to help derisk and optimise the management of the asset – and in the context of its environment – throughout its life cycle.

Real-time geo-data from monitoring allows clients to validate the model, perform economic simulations, optimise maintenance programmes, manage biodiversity, and track the progress of net-zero roadmaps, and more.

Staying ahead of the data race

Undoubtedly, AI and digital advances are transforming the speed, precision and cost-efficiency of how we assess development sites and better manage the wind asset life cycle. But it is the unique skillsets and project experience of people that really makes the difference in leveraging these technological advances to create a safe and liveable world, for us and for future generations.

Wind energy developers, designers and stakeholders can learn more about geo-data innovation and best practice at Fugro’s ‘Turning the Tide’ event at WindEnergy Hamburg in September.

Find out more

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!

Send us your success story

Members’ interview: Venterra

This month we sat down with Philippe Kavafyan, CEO of Venterra Group, to talk about their role in providing services for the offshore wind industry, the phenomenal growth of the sector, and the policy changes we need to see to meet our looming climate and energy goals.

Read the interview