The EU must increase its current pace of deployment of offshore wind turbines tenfold to meet the target set for 2030, the European Commission said on Tuesday, as it wants to further facilitate authorization procedures and calls for tenders for projects. By the end of 2022, the Twenty-Seven had 16.3 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity, while they have committed to collectively reaching 111 GW by the end of the decade.
This means that they should now install almost 12 GW per year… or ten times more than the 1.2 GW built last year, explained the European executive. A considerable challenge: wind energy is going through a storm, weighed down by rising interest rates that complicate financing, raw material inflation that is driving up costs and tensions on the supply of key components (nacelles, cables , turbines, etc.). ) with Chinese manufacturers on the prowl.
To reach 42.5% renewables in European energy consumption, total installed offshore and onshore wind capacity must increase from 204 GW last year to more than 500 GW in 2030, an increase of 37 GW/year, compared to only 16 GW in 2022.
In mid-September, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised “a package of measures” of support. The “action plan” presented on Tuesday by Brussels does not include new legislative proposals, but does include a toolbox that EU authorities and member states can mobilize to alleviate “complex” administrative procedures, reduce production prices and increase the competitiveness of manufacturers.
Long term planning
First objective: to further speed up authorization procedures, already facilitated by the recently adopted legislation on renewable energy, thanks to an initiative from Brussels that allows States to process these applications online. It is up to States to improve the “predictability” of planned projects, with “transparent auction calendars”, with better defined criteria available on a European digital platform, and long-term planning.
On financing, the Commission will facilitate access to the European Innovation Fund, while the European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide guarantees to cover private banks lending to industrialists – and Brussels “encourages states to fully use” the flexibilities currently provided for in public aid. Finally, the European executive assures that it will “closely monitor possible unfair trade practices that benefit wind turbine producers in third countries”, without explicitly pointing out China.
The proposed actions “will help supply chains in Europe to provide the necessary equipment (…) Everyone must play their part and these measures must be implemented as quickly as possible, without waiting for new legislation,” commented Giles Dickson, head of the sector federation, WindEurope.
Source: BFM TV
