Achieving the recently agreed EU target of at least 42.5% renewable energy by 2030, with an ambition for renewables to reach 45%, will require a huge boost in installed wind capacity with an expected increase from 204 GW in 2022 to over 500 GW in 2030. Although the wind energy sector has been a success for the EU in the past, its future development path faces a unique combination of challenges, including insufficient and uncertain demand, slow and complex permitting processes, lack of access in raw materials, high inflation and high commodity prices, unsupportive design of national tenders, increased pressure from international competitors and risks related to the availability of skilled labour.

This situation requires immediate action. For this reason, as announced by President von der Leyen in her State of the Union address in September, the European Commission is today presenting a European wind energy action plan to ensure that the clean energy transition keeps up with industry competitiveness and that wind power continues to be a European success.

The action plan will help maintain a healthy and competitive wind energy supply chain, with a clear and secure pipeline of projects, attracting the necessary funding and competing on a level playing field globally. It is accompanied by a communication on the delivery of the EU’s ambitions for offshore energy, including wind energy, following on from the EU Offshore Energy Strategy adopted three years ago.

A common European response to a unique combination of challenges

The action plan sets out immediate actions to be taken jointly by the Commission, Member States and industry based on existing policies and legislation and focusing on six key areas:

-Accelerate deployment through increased predictability and faster licensing. 16 GW of wind power installations were added in 2022, a record achievement and a 47% increase compared to 2021. However, this is well below the 37 GW/year needed to meet the EU’s target of 2030 in terms of renewable energy. The Commission is launching the ‘Accele-RES’ initiative with Member States to ensure the rapid implementation of the revised EU rules on renewable energy, placing greater emphasis on the digitization of licensing procedures and technical assistance to Member States. In addition, Member States are encouraged to enhance the visibility of the project pool through wind energy commitments, transparent auction schedules and long-term planning. Finally, later this year, the Commission will issue a Networks Action Plan to support the necessary development of electricity networks.

-Improved auction planning. Building on the proposed Net Zero Industry Act and Electricity Market Design Reform, the Commission will support Member States to improve auctions with well-designed and objective criteria that reward equipment with the highest added value and ensure full and timely implementation of projects. Beyond the EU, the use of strategic procurement standards by Global Gateway projects will increase. The action plan also provides for a cybersecurity risk assessment.

-Access to financing. To accelerate investment and financing for wind power generation in Europe, the Commission will facilitate access to EU funding, notably through the Innovation Fund, while the European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide risk-minimizing guarantees. The Commission also encourages Member States to make full use of the flexibility provided by the amended temporary crisis and transition framework for state aid to support wind turbine production in the EU.

– Fair and competitive international environment. To ensure that the wind energy sector can operate on a level playing field, the Commission is closely monitoring potential unfair trade practices that benefit foreign wind turbine producers and will continue to use trade agreements to facilitate access to foreign markets while promoting the approval EU and international standards for the sector. The Commission will also work with investors to identify and address barriers to investment.

-Skills. Large-scale renewable energy skills partnerships will be a key forum for developing skills development projects. With the net-zero industry act, the Commission will also facilitate the creation of European net-zero industry skills academies — including a specific academy for the wind energy sector, aimed at supporting Member States’ actions to upgrade skills and the reskilling of workers. The academies will develop learning content and materials and aim to train 100,000 learners within three years of their establishment.

-Participation of the sector and commitments of the member states. The Commission will work with Member States and the wind industry on an EU Wind Energy Charter to improve the conditions that allow the European wind industry to remain competitive.

New vision to accelerate offshore wind deployment

Offshore wind energy is expected to make a significant contribution to the EU’s climate and energy goals in the coming years. Based on the 2020 Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy, Member States recently agreed ambitious new targets for offshore renewable energy production by 2050, with intermediate targets by 2030 and 2040 for each of the EU’s five sea basins.

In 2022, the cumulative offshore installed capacity of the EU-27 reached 16.3 GW. This means that to bridge the gap between the 111 GW committed by Member States and the 2022 capacity, we need to install almost 12 GW/year on average, i.e. 10 times more than the new 1.2 GW installed last year.

For this reason, the Commission is redoubling its efforts to support specifically the offshore renewable energy sector, defining additional actions to: strengthen network infrastructure and regional cooperation, speed up licensing, ensure integrated marine spatial planning, strengthen resilience of infrastructure, continued research and innovation and development of supply chains and skills.

“The green transition cannot succeed without a strong industrial base. We need to ensure that all sectors can operate in an enabling environment that allows them to contribute effectively to achieving our ambitious climate and energy goals. This package will help the European wind energy sector to grow in Europe and compete globally, thus reducing dependencies on external suppliers and creating green jobs for workers,” said the Executive Vice-President responsible for the European Green Deal, the Interorganizational Relations and Prospect Research, Maroš Šefčovič.

“The EU is determined to lead the energy transition and seize the opportunity to create economic growth and green jobs. The wind sector is key to achieving our clean energy and climate goals, but we need to ensure it can operate in a fair and supportive environment. We are committed to working with Member States and industry to put our legislative goals into practice. Thanks to the actions we are setting out today, the wind energy sector will remain a strong player in the energy market in Europe,” said Energy Commissioner Kardri Simpson.

Korina Georgiou