Wind Power Action Plan, published by the European Commission today, features guidelines for key measures to accelerate wind power development in Europe. The guidelines are to increase the competitiveness of European wind energy production, in particular in the context of unequal fight with manufacturers from China. The measures are to change the rules of the game for the European wind industry and Europe’s ability to achieve its climate and energy goals.
REPowerEU energy strategy assumes 420 GW of wind energy by 2030 compared to today’s 205 GW. To achieve that, Europe must consolidate and expand wind energy supply chain, which now is suffering difficulties. Production costs increased substantially over the last 2 years. Permitting bottlenecks didn’t help. Improperly designed auctions in many countries weakened revenue streams of wind farm developers and turbine manufacturers alike. Manufacturers and their supplies must increase production capacity and build new plants. However, this requires financial and political support.
Polish Wind Energy Association is involved in the development of key solutions to foster wind power development, both at the national level and as a member of WindEurope.
“Green transition will not succeed without a strong industrial base and local supply chains. It is crucial that the process benefits local enterprises. The measures proposed by the EC are consistent with wind energy development directions in Poland. Wind energy industry in our country has been focusing on the development of a local supply chain for years. PWEA is lobbying for streamlined planning and permitting procedures, because we know that new jobs, growing service providers and international cooperation is an opportunity for the wind energy market in Poland that creates perfect conditions for rapid economic growth. Although the Polish market is facing difficulties similar to other European markets, albeit at a smaller scale, wind energy investments are becoming the key pillar of energy transition in our country, with total onshore and offshore capacity in 2030 to reach 20 GW,” said Janusz Gajowiecki, President of the Polish Wind Energy Association.
The EC package proposed a Wind Power Action Plan, which specifies 15 measures to consolidate the European wind energy industry.
Auction planning is a key element. The Commission in proposing a set of project pre-qualification criteria. The criteria are to determine if a project may participate in a wind energy auction. These include data security and cybersecurity, environmental protection, and ability to deliver.
Furthermore, the Commission emphasizes key importance of indexation of auction prices and tariffs by Member States. Currently, improper indexation is a big issue.
Next, the Action Plan specifies a number of measures to aid investment financing in new plants, infrastructure and manpower related to wind energy. EC is proposing to double the available funds for clean technologies under the Innovation Fund to EUR 1.4 billion.
European Investment Bank is also to play a crucial role, for by the end of 2023 it will provide de-risking tools and guarantees to cover the risks faced by private banks lending to wind energy industry. Moreover, EIB adjusted its credit policy to finance production next to broad wind farm financing.
The Action Plan also calls for increasing visibility of wind energy projects. National auction plans will now be published on EU digital platform. The amended 2030 National Climate and Energy Action Plans will require EU Member States to develop 10-year plans for the use of wind energy, including outlook for 2040.
Moreover, the Commission will also fully use commercial instruments at its disposal to ensure equal playing field with competitors from outside Europe. The Commission will closely monitor potential unfair commercial practices, such as product subsidies for wind energy components imported into the EU, and is ready to launch appropriate policies, such as EU Regulation on foreign subsidies.
Wind Power Action Plan is also to further accelerate permitting of new wind farms. By the end of 2023 the Commission will launch a special tool to aid Member States in digitisation of permitting procedures. European wind energy industry is already developing EasyPermits, a digital online permitting tool, available as a pilot program by local permitting authorities in Denmark and Poland. It enables employees to process 3 times the usual number of projects.